


Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of the Fallen

by MavenMorozova



Series: Rise of the Fallen [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: !!!, Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Lives, Canonical Character Death, Enemies to Allies To Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Force Healing, Fuck TROS, M/M, Mortis (Star Wars), Mortis - Freeform, Mustafar (Star Wars), My First Work in This Fandom, Possession, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rose Tico Deserved Better, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, THEY ALL DID! :sob:, The Force, a bit of Dark Rey, fuck Disney, ish?, not any of the ones in romantic relationships though!, now this baby is finished, yeet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-02-19 15:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 31,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22212859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavenMorozova/pseuds/MavenMorozova
Summary: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...The dead speak! Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has been visited by a strange voice reminiscent of the late EMPORER PALPATINE, helping him establish his new rule in the galaxy.Meanwhile, General Leia Organa dispatches three young rebels to gather intelligence, while the last hope of the Jedi communes with the Force Ghosts of old.The FORCE BOND between the Dark and Light only grows stronger as the Resistance prepares to battle the First Order and restore the galaxy to DEMOCRACY.All chapters posted!!!
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ben Solo, Anakin Skywalker & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Ben Solo & Han Solo, Jannah/Rose Tico, Knights of Ren & Kylo Ren, Leia Organa & R2-D2, Poe Dameron & Finn, Poe Dameron & Finn & Rey & Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Rise of the Fallen [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719691
Comments: 36
Kudos: 93





	1. Mustafar

**Author's Note:**

> please enjoy! I hope you find this more satisfying than the original episode 9!

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren stepped off his TIE Silencer, his boots making barely a sound on the new Mustafarian soil. This wasn’t the place his uncle and former master Luke Skywalker had described in his legends of the old Republic and the Empire, something had changed. Tall trees grew from volcanic soil alongside lava rivers, creating a dichotomy for the eyes.

But that did not matter for Kylo’s purpose. He strode into the forest, leaving his ship guarded by three of his Knights, and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the red glow of the lava behind. Through the trees, he could see the dark walls of Darth Vader’s forgotten fortress, rising above even the tallest mountains and volcanoes.

A branch snapped from a few steps away. Kylo turned sharply, glancing a hooded figure before it slid into the shadows. “Who’s there?”

Nothing, no one, responded.

“Show yourself,” Kylo warned, drawing his sword-like red lightsaber. “Or you will be destroyed.”

A creature, short in stature with their face hidden, stepped out from behind a tree. “Grandson of Vader. This is not within your legacy. Leave this place, or the Alazmec will destroy you. This will be your only warning.”

At that, several other beings stepped into view, blocking Kylo’s way to the palace. They drew staffs brimming with sparkling green electricity. “Mustafar belongs to us, now. You will die,  _ Supreme Leader _ ,” another spat with mock deference, folding himself into a bow.

Kylo let out a low laugh and lifted his saber. “No.”

He slashed through their line, taking the Alazmec by surprise. The hood of one of the creatures fell back, revealing glowing eyes under large goggles. The eyes dimmed and went out. Kylo turned away and kept slicing through the ranks. He lifted his comm in his wrist and sent a message to his ship. “Send in the Knights of Ren. Quickly.”

The distraction allowed an electric spear to enter his side. He groaned, one hand flying to his side. Gritting his teeth, Kylo thrust his glowing saber into another of the Alazmec, relishing the thump of the creature when it hit the forest floor.

But he was outnumbered. The cult was closing in, leaving him with only one option. He vaulted himself upward, grabbing a thick tree branch and swinging his saber through the ranks of Alazmec. They screeched as they ran, trying to escape the might of the Dark Side ruler.

The Knights soon flooded the forest. Dressed in all black, with thick brown belts and iron clasps, they were a force to be reckoned with, tearing through the Alazmec soldiers with their durasteel staffs and swords. Kylo led them through the fray, blood spraying through the air to match the crimson Mustafarian sky. Within a moment, the cult was no more, slaughtered in their final resting place as the Knights of Ren and their fierce master stormed away, leaving broken bodies behind, twisted at odd angles and stained with blood and mud.

Kylo led his loyal Knights to the doors of Vader’s palace, the lock no longer functional. Using his lightsaber, he created a hole for them to enter. They stepped inside, darkness engulfing them, except for the spitting glow of Kylo’s saber.

Through the blue glow of Vader’s disused chambers ahead, Kylo could see where his grandfather would have meditated in the Dark Side of the Force, a hexagonal chamber next to the Bacta tank. In front of those stood a small dais, holding a pyramidal object. The Sith Wayfinder.

With each step he made toward the Wayfinder, his hand squeezed into a fist. If only Vader would speak to him! He would rather share the legacy of his family than that of a crinkly old Emperor that Vader had killed. And yet, it was Palpatine who dared to instruct him through the gate of the Netherworld. It was time to face Darth Sidious face-to-face.

Kylo Ren plucked the Wayfinder off the dais and examined it with cold eyes. He was the ruler of the galaxy now, and even more importantly, the Sith. This small tool would lead him to Exegol, the hidden world of his spiritual ancestors, and allow him to claim his birthright. A hint of a smile graced his lips. His fingers curled around the Wayfinder and he drew it to his chest. “Darth Sidious,” he whispered. “You do not yet know the power of Kylo Ren.”


	2. Yoda's Premonitions

On the other side of the galaxy, far from the dark palace of the fallen Skywalker, Rey of Jakku sat hunched on a mound of fallen stones, flexing and unflexing her fingers as the waves of Ahch-To crashed against the cliff below her. She was here to concentrate, purposely had distanced herself from the loud chaos of the Resistance base. She would return, of course, but for now, she had an important task to complete, both self-imposed and assigned by her Master, Leia Organa.

“Be with me, speak to me,” Rey whispered to the humid air of the old Jedi planet. “I know you are here. I know you exist. Please…”

Nothing. Rey let out a gruff breath and kicked the pebbles at her feet with her boot. “Why am I even here, then? Master Skywalker, you told me to return here! You told me you had an important message for me! What does that even mean?”

“Quit the impatience, Rey,” a cross voice behind her said.

She stood and whirled around. There stood Luke Skywalker, his figure encased in a blue glow, almost transparent. “Master Skywalker!” Rey cried, a smile of wonder spreading over her face.

“Didn’t I say I had a message for you, my apprentice?”

Rey felt tears sting her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away on her white sleeve. “Yes, you did.”

Luke gestured to the air beside him, except where there was once just air, now floated a small green creature with large green ears that poked horizontally out of his wrinkly head. Rey had heard about this being in the legends of the Jedi. “ _Master_ _Yoda_ ,” she breathed, wringing her hands together tightly. “I am so honored to be in your presence.”

“He has something important to tell you,” Luke explained. He sat on a smooth rock. “I’m only the messenger.”

“Yes,” Yoda nodded, his voice carrying an odd lilt reminding Rey of a high-pitched croak. “Danger there is for you, young Rey, on a faraway planet. Exegol. The hidden world of the Sith, this planet is said to be. Studied the galaxy’s history texts, have you ever?”

“I actually grew up without such resources,” Rey admitted. “Jakku wasn’t the most educated of planets.”

“Hmm,” Yoda grunted. “Well, important it is to know the history of the Sith and the Jedi.” He drew a walking stick from his robe and hobbled down the path zig-zagging its way down to the beach. Rey followed, glancing behind her to find that Luke was gone.

“Kept the Sith alive but undetectable the Rule of Two did for centuries,” Yoda explained. “Until the Empire, that is. But before then, thousands of Sith there were. Ruled the galaxy with fear and the power of the Dark Side, they did.”

“If the Dark Side is so powerful, why is it so bad?” Rey asked, feeling that her question was a stupid one. It seemed like an obvious answer, but why were there things the Sith could do that the Jedi could not if the Jedi were meant to be superior?

Yoda gave her a sharp look and poked her with his stick. “Careful you must be, young Rey, mindful of your thoughts. Have unnatural powers, the Sith do, linked to evil. Evade death and steal Life Force they can, but these are not powers a Jedi should wish to have.”

“Of course, Master,” Rey responded meekly, withering under Yoda’s fierce stare. “I am sorry to have interrupted.”

“The base of the Sith Exegol was, until the Rule of Two,” Yoda continued. “By then, disappeared, most Sith followers had.” He turned to her, tilting his head to one side. “I fear...never did die these followers. I fear brought back from the netherworld they have been, by the greatest Sith of all history.”

“Darth Sidious,” Rey whispered to herself. It wasn’t a question.

Yoda nodded, confirming her fears. “Killed was he years ago by Darth Vader, but I sense he escaped the path of true death. The final veil, he never passed.”

“How?”

“Stealing Life Force, I suspect.” Yoda shook his head, his face a pained frown as if he was disappointed in how twisted people could be. “When on the verge of dying a person is, if strong enough are they with the Dark Side, hide between the folds of reality they can.”

Rey drew in a breath. They had reached the craggy beach, where the rocky sand met the rocks at sharp points and rivulets whorled around them. “Master Yoda,” she said carefully, “If what you’re saying is true, Darth Sidious has been trapped from the galaxy for decades. So how can he have raised the old Sith warriors?”

The old Jedi shook his head. “Know how this happened I do not.” He turned to her, knocking his stick against her leg. “But go to Exegol you must. Face the Emperor and stop the impending rise of the Sith you must.” Yoda began to fade, but before he completely disappeared, he told her, “Hope there is if you join with Ben Solo against Darth Sidious, young Rey.”

“Ben Solo is gone,” she whispered as Yoda faded away. “Only Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader, remains.”

“No,” Yoda said simply. “Only buried he is.” With that, the ancient Jedi vanished, and Rey was left alone on the beach of Ahch-To, her boots soggy with seawater.


	3. The Wins and Losses of Rose Tico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this scene draws heavily from an actual scene in tros. if you've watched it, you'll know what i mean. I personally loved this scene, so i wanted to include it in the fix-it fic, but unfortunately, it's not quite the same. I do hope that you'll enjoy my twist on it, because there will be more scenes like this one that use actual scenes from tros as a base to build off of. enjoy!:)

Rose and Chewie sat across from each other, each staring down intensely at the game of Dejarik they were playing. Rose moved her piece carefully, the holo tinted green around the edges. “Your move,” she told the Wookie.

Chewie nodded slowly and moved his next piece, knocking Rose’s to the wayside. He growled triumphantly, pumping a furry fist in the air.

Groaning, Rose slouched against the bench. “Come on!” Chewie’s only response was a bark of laughter.

“You haven’t won yet!” Rose insisted, scanning the board. She couldn’t spot anywhere she could move without getting blasted by one of Chewie’s figurines. “Blast it, I  _ am  _ going to lose.”

“I think he’s cheating,” came a smooth voice from behind her, making her stomach do a few somersaults. It was Finn, his elbow propped on the wall of the  _ Millennium Falcon _ ’s insides. When Rose and Chewie turned to stare at him, the Wookie making an indignant sound, he only shrugged. “How else could he be winning? You’re too smart to lose this game, Rose.”

She felt her face warm at that and ducked her head to hide the blush. “No, Chewbacca’s just better than me.”

Chewie made a sound as if to say, “Exactly!” and turned back to the board. Finn raised his eyebrows at Rose and shook his head. “Don’t trust him,” he warned.

Just then, Poe burst into the room. “We’re gonna be exiting hyperspace soon,” he announced. “How’s the game going?”

“Chewie’s cheating,” Finn explained. Chewie growled in response and banged the holoboard twice with one fist.

“Okay, fine!” Finn acquiesced, throwing his hands in the air. “You’re winning fair and square. But you gotta pause the game. We need to offload soon.”

The four of them made their way back to the cockpit, where they buckled in. “Time to see if your cloaking device will work, Rose,” Poe muttered ominously.

Rose gulped. She’d been working on a special function to add to the Falcon, allowing it to hide from the scanners of the First Order, and though it seemed to have worked on the Resistance scanners, she wasn’t sure about how the programming would translate to much more advanced software. Before, she’d only been a maintenance worker, but if this worked, her studying of ship mechanics would have paid off.

She took a few deep breaths and clutched her pendant, feeling the spirit of her sister flowing through her, if only in memory.  _ Please _ , her mind whispered as she stared past Poe and Chewie sitting in the pilot and co-pilot seats, looking out the front window to the open universe beyond. _ Paige, let this work _ . She gripped the pendant so hard, she could feel the edges digging into her palm. She relished the pain; it distracted her from that of missing her sister, and the worry that she had failed the Resistance.

“Rose, you okay?” Finn asked, breaking her out of her trance. She turned to see his worried face peering at her, mouth slightly parted. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, her lips suddenly dry as she gazed at Finn’s. “Just nervous.”

“It  _ will  _ work, Rose,” he said calmly, reaching over to grab her hand. She smiled at that, her heart giving a few quick beats. “I hope so,” she murmured back, giving his hand a squeeze.

She glanced back to see Poe switching the  _ Falcon  _ out of lightspeed, and sent another quick prayer to her sister. They were still moving toward the Star Destroyer… They hadn’t been spotted yet.

“They don’t seem to see us at the moment,” Poe commented, voicing her thoughts aloud. “I’m going to head for the nearest hangar.” Chewie growled in agreement.

Rose only bit her lip. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she muttered to herself. To Poe, she remarked, “I don’t know if this plan will work once we’re docked. Anyone can recognize the  _ Falcon _ .”

“That’s why we’re going to have you and Chewie drop us off and return to the Resistance base,” Poe explained, turning the ship so that they could enter the Destroyer.

“ _ What _ !?” Rose yelled. She would have immediately jumped out of her seat if it wasn’t for the buckle strapping her in. “You didn’t tell me that this was the plan! I-I can’t leave Finn!”

“Finn and I will be fine without you,” Poe clipped, his voice suddenly a degree colder. Was it her imagination, or did Rose sense an underlying feeling there--jealousy? “You’re needed back at the base, taking care of what’s left of the dwindling fleet.”

She frowned and sat back in her seat. “Finn--”

“Don’t worry, Rose. I’ll be safe,” Finn reassured her. “Chewie knows how to fly the ship, and he’ll take you back safely. Poe and I will get ahold of some stormtrooper suits as fast as possible, infiltrate the Destroyer, and send you the information. We’re counting on you.”

Rose unbuckled herself from the chair and stood, clenching her fists. She grabbed onto Finn’s seat as the  _ Falcon  _ bucked and swayed under Poe’s touch. “Stop treating me like a child,” she warned in a low voice. “Both of you. I’ve been on a dangerous mission before, and I flew with the Resistance at the Battle of Crait. I am not who you think I am!”

“ _ We don’t have a choice! _ ” Poe yelled from the pilot’s seat, not even daring to turn around as he flew into the hangar. “We can’t keep the  _ Falcon  _ here!”

“Then I’ll keep watch for you around the perimeter of the Destroyer,” Rose suggested, planting her hands firmly on her hips. “You can’t transmit your messages from a far distance, anyway. When you find the intelligence you need, send it to me, and if you--” Her voice broke suddenly, and she gulped. “If--you and Finn don’t make it, I will be the messenger. I will bring back the intelligence to the Resistance.” The cockpit was quiet for a long moment, except for the sound of the Falcon gently landing on the platform.

“Fine,” Poe accepted, switching off the engine and pressing the button to open the  _ Falcon’s  _ hatch. “Go on, then.”

“Good luck,” she replied, a thread of anger still sewn inside her.

“Credentials?” asked a stormtrooper, stepping up to the hatch as Finn and Poe exited.

“You ass, that’s the  _ Millenium Falcon _ !” another cried. “Blast them!”

Rose saw Poe freeze and raise his blaster, Finn copying him. They blasted their way through the hangar until it was silent. “Go!” Finn shouted, gesturing for her to leave. “Close the hatch!”

She ran over to press the button and took her place in the pilot’s seat. Chewie let out a doubtful growl, as if to ask if she could fly such an old ship. “Of course I can, Chewie,” she retorted, switching on the engine. It was rocky at first. She nearly crashed the  _ Falcon  _ on the edge of the hangar entrance. But once they were out into the open, she felt her fingers warming up to the task.

“Now all we have to do is wait,” she murmured, checking to make sure the cloaking device was switched on. Finally, she glanced at the Wookie sitting beside her. “Chewie, you wanna finish our match of Dejarik?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #RoseTicoDeservedBetter is what inspired this chapter. I wish Rose could have had more screentime in tros, and I have a hunch that institutionalized racism (or the unconscious feud between jj and rian) is what determined her fate. There will definitely be more badass rose in this fic!


	4. Ex-ex-stormtrooper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating yesterday, but I have a nice long chapter for you today. long, long. it's triple the length of what the previous chapters have been. hope you like it!

Finn and Poe checked to make sure that Rose had made it safely out of the Star Destroyer, then rushed across the hangar over to a vacant corridor, their blasters raised in preparation for an ambush.

“Hurry, put this on,” Poe told Finn, extracting a suit from a fallen stormtrooper. He moved to another, pulling the clanky white garment off as fast as possible.

Finn took a deep breath in, then out. He slowly fitted one leg into the metal boot, his insides shaking. He didn’t want to do this. He couldn’t go back to this, return to the world of FN-2187. He felt his heart speed up and his breaths coming quicker.

“Finn?” Poe’s hand was on his shoulder. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

Finn looked up to see that Poe had already put on his suit, minus the helmet, and was kneeling before him. “You don’t have to do this,” he continued. “You can stay here, keep wa--”

“No,” Finn said firmly. He wouldn’t let Poe go alone. He couldn’t. If anything happened to the Resistance pilot, he would never forgive himself. Hazily, he wondered if this is how Rose had felt when they banished her to the  _ Falcon _ . “I can do it.”

But when he put the other metal leg armor on and pulled the chest plate over his head, he felt more lost than ever. Miserably, he read the number of the stormtrooper’s suit he was wearing.  _ CN-1612 _ . Perhaps, a man just as conflicted as he had been. Now, he was what? Dead? And what did that make Finn? A murderer of his brothers and sisters, those who had been trapped by the First Order just as he had been.

“Your helmet,” Poe murmured in a low voice, seeming to sense Finn’s distress. “This will be over soon.” He lifted the stark white helmet in his hands and placed it over Finn’s head, his hand brushing Finn’s neck. Finn swallowed nervously, not just from wearing the garb of the First Order. “Let’s go,” he said abruptly, before Poe could do anything else that would make him even more confused.

“Alright, then.” Poe fastened his helmet over his black curls and grabbed his blaster. “We’ll see what we can find in Ren’s quarters. He set off down the corridor. Finn gawped after him. “You want to sneak into the  _ Supreme Leader’ _ s quarters?” he stammered. “Poe, that is  _ not  _ a good idea.”

“It’s fine,” Poe insisted, grabbing Finn’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “We’re stormtroopers for the moment.”

_ We’re stormtroopers for the moment _ . Finn felt an invisible shiver slide down his spine. FN-2187 wasn’t completely gone then. He just had to remember, in the here and now, that he was CN-1612. He drilled the code into his head until all lingering doubts about his role in the galaxy and the feelings he might have for the man strutting beside him were pushed to the wayside. He had a  _ mission _ . He had a  _ goal _ . What’s more, he felt something powerful moving inside him, something strong and invincible, that he could sense all around, connecting him to the outside world. Rey talked about the “Force” and how it was felt by only a small few, could that be it?

He shook his head, expelling the questions from his mind, compartmentalizing more of his thoughts. They had reached Kylo Ren’s private chambers. “Now what do we do?” Finn whispered. This was ridiculous. They didn’t have a clue what they were searching for, how they were going to get it, or anything else.

Poe reached for the button to open the hatch, but Finn grabbed his wrist. “No,” he said hoarsely. “There’s someone in there.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it,” he answered, ignoring Poe’s bemused expression. “I think it’s Ren.” Finn glanced around frantically. “We need to hide. I think he’s about to leave.” He spotted a dip in the hall leading into a storage inlet. “There!”

They rushed over, barely making it to the hiding place before Ren’s quarters opened, and the Supreme Leader stepped out. Dressed head-to-toe in black, his eyes narrowed and posture straight, he turned right and started down the hallway.

“Let’s go,” Poe whispered once Ren was out of earshot. They crept across the hall and into the bright white rooms of Kylo Ren’s personal quarters before the hatch could slide shut again.

Inside, Finn saw a large holomap displayed in the center of the room, along with several notes typed up on the side. The other side of the room had only two hard-backed chairs, a door which must have led to the more comfortable part of the suite, and an array of criss-crossed slashes in the wall.

“What happened over there?” Poe asked incredulously, pulling his helmet off and pushing a curl out of his face.

“I don’t know,” Finna admitted, crossing the room to examine the marks. He had a feeling he’s seen this before. With Rey, and her--

“It’s a lightsaber,” Finn breathed, shaking his head in disbelief. “This was done by a lightsaber.”

“Wow,” Poe whistled, placing one hand on his hip as he leaned against the holomap’s base. “The dude has some issues.”

“Yup,” Finn agreed.

Just then, the holomap in the center of the room blinked out.

“What did you do?” Finn cried, jogging back over and examining the table. “Poe Dameron, you dumbass!”

“Shit,” Poe cursed, wiping his hands nervously on the hard white stormtrooper outfit and writing them out in the air. “Shitshitshit.”

“Calm down, Poe,” Finn warned. “Just--look for the button to turn it back on or something.”

“You’re the one who freaked out!” Poe retorted, but nevertheless, he complied. They scanned the holo’s table until they found one switch. Finn flicked it, wondering if he would set off an alarm.

“Passcode,” sounded a mechanical voice.

“Uhh…” Finn mumbled. “I don’t know, um…”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” the voice interrupted. “You have three attempts.”

“First Order!” Finn tried, glancing at the table hopefully. Nothing. He saw Poe frown and cross his arms. “It needs to be something more personal,” he said.

“You try, then,” Finn quipped, stepping aside. “Be my guest!”

Pow’s scowl deepened but he stepped closer. “Darth Vader,” he tried. Still, the holo did not appear.

“You have one more attempt,” the voice warned. “After that, you will be locked out of the system for one hour.”

Finn cursed and spun around. What could be more important to Ren than the legacy of his grandfather? He didn’t care about any of his other family, and he didn’t have any romantic partner--or did he?

Finn suddenly thought of Rey’s secret connection, which he had witnessed only a few days ago unintentionally. She had been sitting on a small stool, her hands out and face screwed in a complicated expression. He had seen no one else, but sensed an odd presence. A dark presence. Finn had stiffened, his eyes drawn towards Rey’s hands, which floated with ease in the air, as if they were holding on to someone else’s. He wondered now, could they have been Ren’s?

Rey had seen him then, her hands pulling back, jumping off the stool and facing him. “What did you just see?” she had demanded of him. He insisted he had seen no one but her, which was true, though not the whole truth.

“I have to go,” she had said abruptly. “I’m traveling to Ahch-To for awhile. It’s important.” She had hugged Finn tightly with no semblance of romantic intentions, though he held tender thoughts of her in his heart. “Take care of the Resistance.” She smirked. “And take care of Poe.”

Could the presence he’d felt been Kylo Ren? It made sense, though he hoped it wasn’t true. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned to face the holo table. “Rey,” he said, causing the table to light up green.

“Access granted,” sounded the mechanical voice. The holomap lit up, hovering above the table.

Poe slowly looked at Finn. “W-what?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. “How did you know that? And why is  _ Rey  _ his passcode?”

Finn shook his head, barely able to think. Ideas whirled through his head, whispering to him their perilous faculties.  _ Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader of the First Order, is obsessed with Rey. Kylo Ren, mass murderer, Jedi killer,  _ father  _ killer, is in love with Rey. Rey is in love with him. Is she? _

“Let’s just get what we need and get out of here,” Finn mumbled, examining the holomap and holonotes. The map glowed and sparkled with the solar systems and nebulas of the galaxy, but there was one planet, right in the center, which appeared dull and grey. Below it, Finn noticed, resting on the holo’s base, was a pyramidal object, emitting green energy. “Map,” he said carefully, “zoom into center.”

The planet in the middle enlarged, and suddenly, Finn could see its rifts and gullies, mountains and rivers. But everything seemed to be in a shade of grey. “What is this?” he heard Poe breath from behind him, feeling the pilot’s warm breath even through his stormtrooper suit. Or perhaps he was imagining it.

“I’ve never heard of this planet before,” Finn remarked, turning to read the name displayed on the planet’s edge.  _ Exegol _ .

“It doesn’t matter,” Poe said hurriedly. “Let’s just take the chip and get out of here. We can transmit the information to Rose, too, as a backup.”

“Yeah.” Finn ran his hand along the rim of the table, searching for an opening where he could eject the holo’s programming. “Here!” He flicked the switch next to the slot and the holo sputtered and died, the chip popping out. “Got it.”

Poe yanked off his stormtrooper glove and flicked open the comm on his wrist. “Rose, come in.”

“Yeah?” A muffled voice sounded through the transmitter. “You got some intel?”

“Yup,” Poe grinned, causing Finn’s heart to do a little skip. “Here, I’m inserting the chip we got into the comm. The readings should show on your end. The  _ Falcon  _ has a data receiver in the back.” He held out his hand, and Finn dropped the chip into it, allowing Poe to place it in a new slot in the transmitter. They waited with bated breath as the message went through.

“Do you have it?” Poe asked tautly. A few more seconds passed.

“I have it,” Rose replied, her voice filled with relief. “Now get back to the hangar, and we’ll analyze this on the  _ Falcon _ !”

They didn’t have to be told twice. Poe replaced his white glove armor and helmet and they left Ren’s quarters, shutting the hatch closed behind them. They marched down the hall, steps in unison, blasters positioned in First Order military style. They had almost reached the hangar when they were stopped by a stormtrooper in dark armor with a silver sheen.  _ Phasma _ . “Where are you two going?” she asked, her voice little more than a mechanical whine. “CN-1612, you were called to the bridge by General Hux. Why aren’t you there?”

Fleetingly, Finn remembered that CN-1612 was the dead stormtrooper’s number whose armor he donned, and that he had switched off the First Order communicator. “I-I was just getting there,” he sputtered, feeling himself begin to sweat. “My partner and I--”

“BR-5280 is supposed to be with  _ me _ ,” Phasma drawled, sensing his fear. She edged closer, like a predator sniffing out its prey. “I recognize your voice, FN-2187. Don’t think me a fool.” She raised her blaster. Finn froze, his past closing in on him, the corridor shrinking, the walls pressing on his shoulders. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Heard the sound of her blaster fire.

But he was not dead. Finn opened his eyes to see Phasma laying on the ground, a hole in her chest. Poe stood over her, his blaster still raised. He turned to look at Finn, his face hidden by the stormtrooper helmet. “Let’s go,” were his only words.

They ran down the corridor toward the open blast doors that led to the hangar, Finn not daring to spare a glance at his former boss, his manipulator, his captor. She couldn’t hurt him, not anymore. The hangar was clear, but something seemed off. “This isn’t right,” Finn faltered, his voice echoing in the clear open space. “There should be someone stopping us.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Poe said, brushing Finn’s warning aside. “There’s Rose with the  _ Falcon _ .” He pointed at the hangar exit, where the ship was hovering on the verge of space. “We have our chance, let’s leave!”

As if on cue, the  _ Falcon’s  _ ramp lowered, and Chewie appeared with a howl, waving his arm. Finn and Poe broke into a run, hurtling themselves across the hangar, but before they could even make five paces, a voice was heard. “Stop right now, rebels! Drop your blasters and get on the ground!”

Finn heard then, the familiar sound of hundreds of boots marching simultaneously across the hangar floor. Filled with dread, he slowly turned around, putting his hands in the air, yet not relinquishing his blaster. Poe did the same, his eyes widening as he glimpsed the vast wall of stormtroopers that circled around them, pouring in from the depths of the Destroyer through the blast doors and blocking their way to the  _ Falcon _ . They sent blasts in a constant batter toward the  _ Falcon _ , making it shake and filling the hangar with the din of battle.

“How did they  _ know _ ?” Finn managed to ask Poe from the corner of his mouth, though it was almost a question to himself. “We look like them!”

“I’m sure the  _ Falcon’s  _ not a dead giveaway!” Poe shot back. “Besides, I killed Phasma and--”

“And what?” What could they have forgotten?

“Oh, shit. We didn’t get the security cams.” Shit, indeed.

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS, OR WE SHOOT!” a stormtrooper in the front screamed. Though he looked no different from the others, Finn could tell he was the acting leader.

They dropped the blasters immediately. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Poe mumbled hopelessly. He twisted his neck to make eye contact with Chewie. “GO, Chewie!” he cried. “Get back to the base!”

Chewie made a keening sound and shook his hairy head violently.

“LEAVE US!” Finn bellowed. “You have to do what you need to do! The Resistance is counting on you!”

Rose popped her head out, her eyes widening at the sheer number of stormtroopers in the hangar. A red blast flew at her, but she dodged it, and it hit the  _ Falcon’s  _ insides instead, sending a flurry of sparks from the rampway. “Finn--”

“ _ GO _ !” He saw a tear slip down her cheek, but she nevertheless nodded. The ramp began to close, with Chewie and Rose inside, and the Millenium Falcon reversed, jettisoning away into hyperspace. They were truly alone now.

Finn felt stun cuffs being fit around his wrists, the strong durasteel preventing any escape. The helmets were removed from his and Poe’s heads, cementing them as imposters. He wondered what General Organa would think of him now. Oddly, in a fleeting thought, he was reminded of C-3PO. “ _ We’re doomed _ ,” the protocol droid would have trembled in resignation. For now, they  _ were  _ doomed. They would have to wait for an escape with the Resistance, if any rescue mission could even be afforded. “I’m sorry, Poe,” he whispered. The pilot didn’t respond, only gave him a regretful sidelong glance. Finn felt himself go a tad dizzy at Poe’s strong jawline and high cheekbones, highlighted by the fluorescents of the hangar and the sweat glistening on his skin. Then he shook himself. Was he having feelings for Resistance pilot and scoundrel  _ Poe Dameron _ ? He couldn’t. He loved Rey! And she--she loved him, too, right? She cared for him, she--

But Rey had been stretching far too thin, pulled away from him by the prospect of being a Jedi, the  _ last  _ Jedi, and her possible bond with Kylo Ren.  _ Did she love him? _ he wondered. Finn felt like collapsing into a corner and crying. He didn’t understand his feelings, of those of Rey, or Ren or Poe or Rose. And what was worse, he was probably going to die on a First Order Star Destroyer, the place he’d sworn to escape from.

He and Poe were shuttled down the hall and stopped in front of a set of blast doors. “Valuable Resistance prisoners,” the stormtrooper behind him spat at the guard standing outside, who promptly pulled a lever, allowing the group to pass.

The inside was dark and rather chilly. Finn’s eyes struggled to adjust to the dim lighting, but he soon saw a black cloak waving in front of him. He lifted his eyes and looked into the soulless ones of the Supreme Leader. He heard Poe groan beside him. He felt lost. They were back where they started, except this time, there was no escape.

“Leave the prisoners with me,” Ren drawled in a low voice, little more than a whisper. Finn heard the shuffling of the stormtroopers’ metal boots as they exited the room. He and Poe looked at each other, locking eyes.. They were alone with the most dangerous man in the galaxy.

“I know why you came here,” Ren said, pacing around them, one gloved hand resting on his lightsaber. “You know how to get to Exegol.” Hearing the planet’s name out of Ren’s mouth was jarring, yet somehow made it real. Exegol existed. But what  _ was  _ it?

Poe opened his mouth. “We don’t know what you’re talking ab--”

No sooner had he said it, Ren’s flickering, burning lightsaber was in front of his nose. Poe flinched.

“Don’t lie. There is no point in that,” the Supreme Leader warned quietly. Suddenly, his head snapped up, his eyes gazing at something far away above their heads. Finn saw his jaw twitch and his fingers flex in frustration. “This is the absolute  _ worst  _ time,” he muttered, seemingly to himself.

Finn swiveled around to see what Ren was staring at, but there was nothing. “What--”

“Shh,” Ren silenced him, aiming his saber at Finn.

“Don’t tell me to shush!” came a female voice, echoing through the room. Could it be--

“Rey?” he called frantically. “Rey!”

“Finn?” the voice, Rey, asked. “Ben--no, Kylo--what is going on?”

“Rey?” Poe asked quizzically, scanning the room with his eyes. “Finn, no one’s here!”

“You don’t hear--?”

“All of you, stop talking  _ now _ !” Kylo roared, slashing his lightsaber dangerously close to their necks.

“Ben--Kylo--” Rey stammered. “I demand to know what you are doing to my friends!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew! that was long!:P


	5. Kylo's Compromise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reylo getting some action here! this chapter is really where this fic is gonna take a turn from the canon movie...although there are a few lines of dialogue you'll recognize;)

Rey stood on the beach of Ahch-To, staring at the beautiful face of Kylo Ren. He was angry, she could tell, though not at her. Himself, perhaps?

“Ben--Kylo--” she stammered. “I demand to know what you are doing to my friends!”

He rolled his shoulders back and lifted his head. “I am doing nothing, Rey. They are simply prisoners of the First Order. They will be questioned and executed, but no excruciating harm will come to them.”

Rey heard Finn scoff and her mouth parted, the irony almost laughable.  _ No harm? _ More like  _ no pain _ . But harm? Yes. She couldn’t let Finn and Poe die. “Kylo, you don’t want to do this,” she sighed, attempting to appeal to his consciousness. “Ben lives in you, the legacy of your father--”

“We’ve been over this Rey,” Kylo reminded her quietly. “Ben Solo is dead.”

She shook her head and tried again. “At least, let them go. Let that be your one gift to me.”

Slowly, he shook his head. “You’ll have to mount a rescue mission if you want to save them,” the Supreme Leader said. “Or, save yourselves and leave them here, resign them to their fate.”

“Rey, forget about us!” Finn called through the bond. “Rose has what she needs! Just--don’t ruin the last of the Resistance by wasting it on us!”

Kylo’s eyes flared as his eyes slid to where Finn must have been standing. “So you did get the information out.” He looked at Rey again. “It doesn’t matter. Even if the Resistance does know about Exegol, there’s no way you can get there.” He stepped closer so that they were almost touching. “Rey...I want you to come with me, come meet me. I--” He swallowed, his next words slow and careful. “If you come join me, Dameron and FN-2187 can go free. I swear on the code of the Sith.”

Rey felt a twinge of disgust as she heard him say that word. “You’re not a Sith, Ben,” she pleaded. “You never were, you never will be. Snoke wasn’t either. I’ve heard the legends from Master Yoda. Siths carry the title of ‘Darth,’ and you--”

“A technicality,” Kylo interrupted, waving her argument aside. “I am just as much a Sith as my grandfather was.”

Rey shook her head sadly, unsure of what she could say to turn the tide. “Fine,” she gave in. “I’ll go to you, and you will let them go.”

Kylo leaned forward. “You have my word,” he whispered, his breath tickling her neck through the bond. The next moment, he was gone.

***

Rey arrived at the Star Destroyer soon after, touching down with a spare pod from one of the Resistance’s few ships. She was reminded of her similar stunt not long ago, when she was sure she could convert Ben Solo, but had instead faced his heartbreaking betrayal. Now, she was returned with the purpose not of saving Ben, as perhaps it was too late for him, but to save what she could: Finn and Poe.

Rey exited the pod and found herself surrounded by several stormtroopers. “This way,” one of them gestured, leading the way out of the hangar. To her surprise, they neglected to apprehend her lightsaber or click stun cuffs around her wrist. Perhaps she had gained more of Kylo’s trust than she’s previously imagined. Or--was it Ben’s trust?

The group of them trooped down the corridor, heading towards what must have been Kylo’s quarters, or perhaps an interrogation room. Rey felt the peculiarity of the situation as keenly as she could feel the Force flowing through the life-forms around her: the way the stormtroopers marched in front of and behind her, allowing her to walk as a guest rather than a prisoner, made her feel akin to royalty. Of the First Order, no less. What was even more ironic, she thought to herself, was that Ben was the son of a princess. She wondered if that made him a prince.

A few short minutes later, Rey and her entourage reached a smooth hatch door with only one decoration, a hexagonal red symbol, six rays pointing out from the center, imprinted into the durasteel.  _ The symbol of the Sith _ . She cast her eyes down disappointedly, wishing that Kylo wouldn’t push himself so far, too far, almost as if he was trying to prove himself.

The door slid open, revealing a bright white room she didn’t recognize. Rey was almost positive that she’d been interrogated in Kylo’s personal quarters before when he’d been trying to find the map to Skywalker, but this was different. Blindingly stark and white instead of a deep grey and inviting of shadows, the room only contained a large holo tablebase right in the center. Along the far wall, a criss-cross of lightsaber marks bore into the durasteel, making Rey sigh, though she found the sight amusing as well.

But they had not yet reached their destination. The stormtroopers led Rey through another door, and this time, Rey knew she was in the right place. Kylo was waiting for her, arms resting behind his back. “Rey,” he stated simply, his eyes betraying a spark of joy. She knew it was because of her decision--which had been more like blackmail, really. But she couldn’t deny that she felt a prickle of excitement, too. “Kylo. Where are Finn and Poe?”

“ _ FN-2187 _ and the pilot are being escorted to a ship in which they can depart in,” Kylo reassured her, gesturing for the stormtroopers to leave them.

“Don't call Finn that," she snapped. "He's not a stormtrooper anymore, and as you asserted, apparently he's a traitor. Besides, why should I believe you?”

“I swore on it, remember, darling?”

She bristled at that name coming from his mouth, unexpected as it was. It would have been fine if Ben had called her that, she told herself. But not Kylo, never Kylo. “Don’t--don’t call me that. Please.”

He kept his face expressionless as he approached her so that they were nearly touching. “I'll show you,” he whispered. He removed one black glove and pressed a button on the transmitter that he wore on his wrist. The holo on it flickered to life, showing a blue-toned Finn and Poe boarding a TIE fighter. Not more than thirty seconds later, the ship lifted, got its bearings, and vanished into hyperspace. Satisfied, Rey turned her attention back to Kylo. “Why did you call me here?”

“You know,” he murmured, leaning in so that his lips brushed the soft ridge of her ear. “You've always known. We're meant to be together, Rey. We're a Dyad--”

“You can't be serious,” Rey scoffed, stepping away from Kylo. “Do you know how  _ rare _ that is?”

“Exactly,” he replied, his arm stretching out to hers. “We have more power than any Jedi or Sith before us, if we join together. I already rule the galaxy, you can too. Join me, Rey.”

She backed away further, facing one bland grey wall. Her eyes were drawn to the crumpled mask that stood a few feet away.  _ Darth Vader _ . A chill went down her spine.  _ I am just as much a Sith as my grandfather was _ . What had Vader been like, anyway? She’d only heard legends, and Luke wasn’t keen on sharing personal details. So she knew little.

Kylo approached her, eyeing the mask as well. “You see why I must continue my legacy,” he lamented. His eyes shone with a deep regretfulness, and something beyond which Rey could not read.

“That’s not your only legacy,” she said quietly. “What about your father? Your mother?”

Kylo shook his head. “Only the dead could persuade me otherwise, darling. Stop trying. Join me, or watch me obliterate what’s left of the Resistance.”

So it was over for him. Why, then, did Rey feel a prickle of hope? She squished it far down inside of her, as it would not serve her well. “You sound like General Hux,” she chose to respond instead. “I didn’t think you could sink that low.”

Kylo shrugged, almost imperceptibly. It reminded Rey of his father, Han. She felt tears sting her eyes and turned her face away so that Kylo wouldn’t see, lifting her arm to quickly blot out the weakness, the chink in her armor. But--too late. He’d seen. With the tenderness of someone who was as far from “Supreme Leader” as possible, Kylo reached for her, sliding a tear away with his ungloved thumb. It was soft from being wrapped in leather every second, and she felt herself leaning into his touch. His giant hand cupped her face. She breathed deeply. There was something between them, and he was right: it was more than a simple Force Bond. Could it be a Dyad?

She pulled away, horrified that she’d let Kylo Ren caress her face. “No,” she whispered to herself. “I can’t do this.”

Kylo blinked at her, and for a moment, he was Ben, surrounded in light instead of shadow. The moment passed, and again he was Kylo, Supreme Leader and Jedi killer, Master of the Knights of Ren.

“I have an army to command,” he told her. “Stay here until I can return. You’re not a typical Resistance prisoner, so I won’t afford you a cell. But you must remain in my quarters. There will be a stormtrooper posted outside, making sure you comply.”

She felt the corner of her mouth lift at the irony. It was a cell. These rooms were her prison. Even if she did escape with her lightsaber in hand, there was nowhere she could go--she was on a Star Destroyer in the middle of kriffing space. She didn’t even know how many thousands of klicks she was from any planet, with the speed the ship was moving--or if they were in hyperspace. She was trapped, and had done it to herself.

_ For a noble cause _ , she heard her mind protest, and it was true, albeit a stupid one. But what could she do now? Her passion of the moment had sealed her fate. “I’ll be here,” she sighed, “for when you return.”

When he left, Rey walked aimlessly around this room, which only contained the Vader mask along with other Empire relics, and a long grey sofa. She wondered if she’d been interrogated here at all.

The next door led to a dressing room, the wardrobes filled with black cloaks, capes, and armors of different shapes, and rows and rows of thick boots. The room after that was the shower and washroom. She flushed as she remembered Kylo’s bare chest, water dripping from his skin onto his tight high-waisted pants.

Shaking her head forcefully, she pushed through to the next room. It was his bedroom. Neat, as to be expected. The viewports offered a shimmering view of the nebulas and star systems afar, giving her the answer to at least one question: they weren’t in hyperspace.

There was barely anything in the room, save for the oversized cot in the middle. Well no, it wasn’t a cot, not by a long shot. Heavy grey comforters and sheets spilled over the sides, the only aspect uncharacteristic of the room, or even Kylo himself. Perhaps he was restless, busy. Or distracted.

There was nothing else for Rey to do, so she pulled out her lightsaber and began to practice.  _ Forward thrust. Swivel. Backflip and swish. Sidestrike _ . She kept on until she was too tired to go on. Without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the galaxy, Rey collapsed on Kylo’s bed, finding her sleep peaceful and devoid of nightmares.


	6. The Will of Vader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayo today's another chapter from Kylo's POV--and can i just say--this is my favorite part so far. get ready for some angst, familiar faces, and yeah I'm not gonna say anymore bc of spoilers...hope u enjoy!

Kylo stared out of the front viewport on the Star Destroyer, his eyes glazed over as he watched the front blasters testing a new formula on a deserted moon. Red sparks flew in duets across space, hitting their mark together, destroying and dying as one. Hux had mentioned an issue with the synchronization of the twin blasters, but there seemed to be no problem now, the two blasts operating as one.

“Supreme Leader,” called a terse voice from behind him. Kylo turned to face Hux, who had his fist raised in the First Order salute. Kylo hated this salute. It reminded him that the First Order was one of a lesser origin than that of the Sith, the Empire that had once reigned. Snoke had been a Force-sensitive being who had seized control of the galaxy through brute force, unlike the subtle infiltration of his grandfather’s master. But he’d never been a Sith. He’d been an imposter, hence why Kylo had considered his death necessary.

“Armitage Hux,” Kylo replied, acknowledging his presence. “You received my comm, then.”

“I did,” Hux answered, his voice a snappy sneer as was typical. “The P-section stormtroopers have been sent to rehabilitation. They should be ready within a few days.”

“Good,” Kylo clipped. “We cannot afford anymore misplaced loyalties.”

Hux’s lip curled as Kylo said this, but that seemed to be his only reaction. Kylo knew of Hux’s suspicions that he’d killed the former Supreme Leader, but he never indulged this idea and didn’t say anything, then or now. “You’re dismissed,” he nodded at Hux, who pivoted and returned to his post.

Kylo returned to staring out the viewport, one finger tapping on his left elbow absentmindedly. The ship could go on without him for now, he finally decided, retreating from the bridge to return to his quarters. He wanted to be with Rey. And more importantly, he needed to find a way to purge Darth Sidious from his mind.

He was almost to his quarters when he heard the old Emperor’s voice.  _ Kylo Ren. I see you have captured the last Jedi. _

Kylo flared his nostrils, annoyed that Darth Sidious was still finding a way to sneak into his mind unnoticed. Because he was feeling reckless, he asked, “How are you even communicating with me? You’re dead. My grandfather killed you.”

_ Not with hate _ , Sidious replied snarkily.  _ He was weak. So are you, for refusing my help. _

“Your  _ help  _ will bring the end of my reign,” Kylo sneered. “If I allow you to return, you’ll only take over what I have gained.”

_ What  _ Snoke  _ gained, not you, young Solo.  _ Kylo swallowed at that. It was true. Snoke had been the one to raise a new order in secret, despite the strength of the New Republic, modeling his First Order after the ashes of the Empire. “But I killed Snoke,” he said defiantly. “And I won’t need to kill you, because you’re already dead.”

_ Only halfway. _

What did that mean? Sidious seemed to sense Kylo’s confusion, as he went on,  _ When Lord Vader killed me, his power was only enough to send me past the gates of death, and were I a normal person, I would have been silenced forever. But the Sith… _ Kylo could almost feel Sidious’s smirk.  _...We possess many powers some may consider...unnatural _ .

“So you’re not--dead?” he faltered.

_ Oh, I am, _ Sidious clarified.  _ I simply have not passed the gates into the netherworld. I am in the in-between. A place strong with the Force, an intangible space where only a fierce spirit can survive, one who feeds off of hatred and anger. _

A shiver made its way down Kylo’s spine, despite himself. The Emperor's explanation was plausible, which made it all the more dangerous. What was worse, is that Kylo had a sinking feeling that it was true. He stepped into his quarters and slid the door shut, breathing deeply several times. “I’ll think of what you’ve said,” he said, hoping it would placate the old Sith lord. “Until we speak again.”

_ Goodbye for now, young Solo _ , the Emperor cackled.

Kylo sighed once he felt Sidious’s presence disappear. He passed his planning room into his relics chamber and then into his dressing room, shucking off his boots and cloak. Where was Rey?

He knocked quietly on the washroom door, but there was no answer. Cautiously, he cracked the door open, peeking his head inside to see that there was no Rey there, wearing clothes or otherwise. Pursing his lips, he pushed the image out of his head and followed the same procedure with his bedroom. When he glanced inside to see that Rey was there, and thankfully still fully clothed, he stepped in quietly, realizing that the young Jedi was asleep. He felt a piece of his internal armor melt a little, sliding away to make room for his heart. She looked so peaceful, almost happy, in a way he’d never seen her before. Gone was her constant fierce frown, which he admired, and her pitying tears, which made him feel ashamed. He wanted to see her with a true smile. He hoped he would someday.

He retreated to the relics room, placing his hand on the rough edges of Vader’s mask. It centered him, gave him focus. This piece of his history.

“Ben.”

He pivoted at the sound of a coarse, yet smooth, male voice, his eyes landing on a blue-toned figure. The man in question was a couple of inches shorter than him, with brown wavy hair that reached his shoulders and strong brow bones. He wore black-and-brown robes in the Old Republic Jedi Knight style, though missing the adornments that would mark him as a Master. “Hello, my grandson,” the man said calmly, the ghost of a smile etched upon his face.

Kylo’s mouth parted. He didn’t understand. This bluish man was Darth Vader?

“I’m a Force Ghost, Ben,” his grandfather explained, holding out one hand to show Kylo his blue glow. “My name is Anakin Skywalker, though you may know me as Darth Vader.” So it  _ was  _ him.

“You may not know this, but I cast away the Dark Side when I killed Palpatine,” Anakin continued. “I am  _ not  _ Vader. But you asked for your grandfather, and I’m sorry it took me so long to respond to your call, but I’m here now. I can help you, Ben.” He shook his head slowly, placing one translucent hand on Kylo’s shoulder. “You wanted to finish what I started. But that’s not why I turned to the Dark Side. I turned because I was trying to save my wife’s life.”

This last statement made Kylo stumble back. His grandmother. “W-what?”

“Palpatine manipulated me, Ben. He exploited my weakness: my love. Snoke seduced you, too. But your chains are gone, you can escape the lies of the Sith. I once thought the Jedi were the liars, but I was wrong, Ben. Palpatine told me that I could save your grandmother, Padm é ’s, life if I turned. He told me the Dark Side powers would allow me to do this. But healing isn’t in the realm of the Sith.”

Kylo watched as a single tear fell down Anakin’s cheek, even after all these years. “Ben, you were named after my closest friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi. His code name was ‘Ben,’ you see,” Anakin explained. “He was the noblest Jedi I ever knew, sealed to the truth and the light, his morals unflinching. Please, do not throw away his namesake.”

Kylo felt a lump sprout in his throat and tears springing to his eyes.  _ No. Stop. _ But the tears came, flowing down his cheeks silently anyway in front of his grandfather, who wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace.

“I love you, Ben,” Anakin uttered, his voice tight with the effort to hold back tears. Kylo recognized the feeling. “I’ve watched you all your life, and I failed you. I’m sorry. But you can come back to the light, as I did. There is no great enemy except yourself.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Kylo pulled away from his grandfather’s Force Ghost, willing his eyes to look anywhere but Anakin. He didn’t know how to reveal this news in a pleasant way. “Palpatine might be...not completely dead.” He cringed inwardly and waited for Anakin’s reaction, but his grandfather didn’t lash out. Instead, his eyes carried a faraway look, a regretful stare. “Did I die for nothing?” The words were not much more than a whisper, and Kylo realized that Anakin wasn’t speaking to him, or even himself. He felt a swell in the Force as Anakin looked at him again and sighed. “You’re right. He’s trapped in between this world and the next.”

“What can we do?”

“We?” Anakin raised one eyebrow.

“I mean--” What did he mean? Who was he, what was his name?  _ Kylo Ren. Ben Solo _ . It struck him then, that everyone who cared about him, everyone he claimed to admire or love, wanted him to be with them. On the Light Side. With the name of Ben Solo. There was no reason for him to stay in the dark. But something held him back--not a person--but a fear.

“I--I don’t know if I can go back, grandfather,” he cried, falling to his knees and heaving a sob. He could feel his pent-up rage and despair over the years spilling out of him, finally letting go. His resentment towards Luke Skywalker, his fear and hatred of Snoke, and above it all, the overwhelming realization that his parents most likely would never forgive him for turning to the Dark Side and becoming what they’d sworn to fight against. It was all his fault. It finally hit him-- _ he’d _ killed  _ his  _ father. Not some other creature in a mask, separate from himself. Kylo and Ben were not two people, but one, two sides of the same coin. Heads, tails. Light, Dark. He was both, and he had to live with that. Even if he turned now, it would be his torture forever, living with what he’d done.

Anakin crouched on the floor next to his grandson, gently rubbing his back in soothing strokes. “I know exactly how you feel right now, Ben,” he whispered softly. “But you can’t give up now. Besides, I have someone who wants to see you.”

Another shape appeared, morphing into a Force Ghost like Anakin. Grey hair, a classically roguish face, and a brown jacket.  _ Han Solo _ . “How is he even here? He’s not Force-sensitive--”

“They didn’t call me ‘the Chosen One’ for nothing, grandson.”

“I can’t do this--”

“You can, son,” his father murmured, taking his hand. “I am sorry I allowed this to happen in the first place. You deserved better from Leia and I. We were so focused on running a new government that we neglected the most important thing in our lives--our son.”

“No.  _ I  _ failed  _ you _ , dad. Don’t blame yourself. I ruined your life, split you and mom apart. She won’t accept me now if I go back. I killed  _ you _ , her only love.”

“She loves you, Ben, as I still do.”

“I killed you; how can you say that?”

“Because no matter what you’ve done, Ben, I’ve always loved you and always will. You’re my son, my flesh and blood, my anchor to the galaxy, my legacy and my heart. I can’t just throw all that away.” He reached forward and took his shaking son in his arms, stroking his back as Anakin had done. Is this what it felt like to have a family? But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Han disappeared, leaving Anakin to slump on the floor in exhaustion.

“When I turned to the Light Side,” Anakin said after some silence, breathing heavily, “I was weakened by Darth Sidious’s Force Lightning and the memory of my treacheries. I killed so many, Ben. I killed planets, I killed  _ children _ . It was right that I should die. I had fulfilled my purpose in life by ending the Sith line and saving my son.” He paused. “But you--you don’t have that luxury. You’re young, so you can redeem yourself. You’re not too far gone. And most importantly, you have a woman who needs you. And you need her. With your Dyad, you may be the only people able to force Sidious through to the netherworld.”

At that moment, Rey entered the room, her brow furrowing as her gaze landed on the two of them, on the floor, eyes wet. “Ben?”

He nodded, fresh tears coming on. “It’s me,” he wept. “Rey, I am so sorry. I--”

She stopped him, walking towards him, kneeling on the floor across from where he kneeled and placing a finger on his lips. Almost like a question, she embraced him tightly, and when she pulled away, he saw that she was crying as well. Then, she turned to Anakin, a query written on her face.

“This is Anakin Skywalker,” Ben explained. “Jedi Knight.” As Rey gawped, he locked eyes with his grandfather, a tiny sad smile curling one side of his mouth.  _ Thank you _ , he thought.  _ Thank you _ .


	7. Trust

General Leia Organa, the last living member of the famous Golden Trio of the Rebellion, folded her arms as she glared into the exhausted faces of Finn, Poe, and Rose. The three of them had finally returned to the Resistance base on D’Quar, separately, unfortunately. Rose had showed up first, piloting the  _ Falcon  _ thought the atmosphere shakily, and landing it with Chewie’s help. Poe and Finn came a bit later, piloting a First Order vessel that had the blasters shooting at them before Poe finally commed in, yelling at them to stop, that they were Resistance. In the end, the logistics had been fine, but Leia was not pleased. The mission shouldn’t have split up. And it had been due to the men that they’d been separated. Always, it was the men.

Leia sighed. “Report, Commander Dameron.”

She saw him gulp unevenly. “We were spotted while infiltrating the First Order’s Star Destroyer. Finn and I sent Rose to leave without us, to get the information we would send her back to the Resistance. We discovered that there’s a secret planet hidden from the naked eye of the galaxy, Exegol. But we don't know how to get there. We have the projection, though--”

“It’s not just that, General,” Finn interrupted. “Poe and I were captured and questioned by Kylo Ren. He knows we have the information we took.”

She sensed he was hiding something. “And? How are you standing in front of me?”

“He--” Finn paused, looking uncertain. He scratched his neck and finally met Leia’s eye, saying, “He let us go, in exchange...for Rey.”

She had thought hot anger would sizzle through her, but instead she felt only a cold chill. Fear of that monster that was once her son. “How did this happen?”

“Rey and Ren have this...connection,” Finn explained, cringing. Leia felt the cold sink deeper into her skin as he continued. “I don’t really feel like it’s my place to explain it--I don’t even understand it fully. But she talked to him directly, and turned herself in. And Ren let us go.” He seemed confused, but Leia certainly was not. If anything, this had proven to be her son’s one true weakness. He was in love with Rey. She could see it as clear as she could sense the Force, feel it, know it to be true. And, if love was his weakness, perhaps Rey was right, that he could indeed be turned.

She was torn between her motherly desire to send out a rescue party for Rey and the need to protect and conserve Resistance resources. Rey hadn’t been captured, after all, and the last time she’d brought herself to Kylo, she had made it out unharmed, physically, at least. She could do it again. Couldn’t she?

Leia let out a small groan of frustration, clenching her teeth. “Thank you, Finn,” she mumbled, turning around to face a holotable. “I’ll think on what to do about Rey. For now, let’s see this intel you so  _ sacrificially  _ received.”

***

Leia lay in her military cot, relishing the feel of a soft blanket over her shoulders. She could feel the air swirling around her, humid and thick with fog. She could sense the devotion to the cause of freedom from her Resistance pilots and soldiers, and their anxieties. She reached farther, glimpsing the vast reaches of space, and within it, her son, alone. No, not alone. She knew that the spirit of Han rested in him, and the spirit of her father. Her father, who she’d still not yet forgiven. Whom Luke had turned and Han had come to terms with...but she still could not put aside all that Anakin had done.

_ Did she feel the same about Ben? _ She wondered to herself as she stretched further, deeper into her son, pulling herself close to his feelings, the midichlorians dancing in his cells. There was a change there; she knew it. He was not the same. Perhaps, even, he was not Kylo Ren any longer. But how could she know for sure? Perhaps there was no true answer, and she would have to  _ trust _ . It was a concept she knew intimately about, but still seemed foreign. She hated to rely on it. She knew what her brother would have said on this matter, if he were still alive. Maybe it was time to follow in his footsteps, and embrace the Jedi value fully.  _ Trust _ , indeed.

Leia opened her eyes, her pupils adjusting to the darkness surrounding her. Back in her own body, she turned her mind to another pressing matter: Exegol. The odd holo had shown the planet in an untraceable area of the galaxy, somewhere not found in any system they had knowledge of. Yet it had labeled the planet as the Hidden Realm of the Sith. An ominous thought occurred to her. Perhaps there were allies there, ready to aid the First Order with the Dark Side. She needed to know more, but there hadn’t been much else. And worse, there was no way for Rey to report back. They’d have to wait for her.

So what could Leia do, to be the General the Resistance needed? Everyone close to her was gone. Her brother, Luke. Her lover, Han. Her right-hand woman, Amilyn. Only the next generation remained. Leia could sense their passion easily, flowing through them like the lava that had deformed her father. Especially in Rey. And her son. Finn had mentioned a connection between them, but she didn’t understand. Leia had focused on the military of the New Republic all her life, and now, only ever having been a Princess and a General, but never a formal Jedi, she felt a tinge of regret. She did not know enough about the Jedi lore. The history. The rules and the particulars. She was missing something, and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do to learn. The Jedi texts were burned. The Skywalker lightsaber was destroyed. The past had died.

She was lost. So Princess General Leia Organa put on a calm, serene face as she stepped out of her quarters the next morning, facing the straggling rebels before her, willing herself to be brave. It was up to the next generation now. She had to trust.


	8. Supreme Leaders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! i haven't updated for awhile but hopefully this nice long chapter will make up for that! enjoy!

Rey stared at herself in the mirror. She was facing a vision of herself, but not. Her Jedi robes were dark brown and black, flowing around her ankles, which were strapped into tight combat boots. In her belt sling, she wore a single lightsaber, Leia’s, as the Skywalker lightsaber had been destroyed. Its blade was blue, still, and it gave her comfort. A blue lightsaber, amidst the darkness that she was about to enter.

“My love.”

She turned. Kylo Ren was standing behind her, his face shrouded in shadow. He was fitted in ceremonial black robes as well, forgoing the more practical military outfit she was used to seeing him in. No, she had to remind herself that the man before her wasn’t the evil monster he’d been, but instead Ben Solo. He was good. He’d turned.

“Ben,” she replied, the tiniest corner of her mouth turning into a worried smile. “I don’t know if the galaxy will buy this trick.”

“They will. Don’t worry.” His eyes flitted over her robes in a cursory glance before they met her eyes again. “The Resistance is more likely to believe that you’ve turned to the Dark Side than me to the Light.” The lump in his throat bobbed once, and she knew that the statement had pained him to say.

Rey only nodded in response, every part of her tense. If by some miracle, the First Order believed that she, the last Jedi, could be turned to the Dark Side, they would accept her as a second Supreme Leader. An equal to the fearsome, volatile, Kylo Ren. They weren’t married, but it was almost the same thing. A spike of adrenaline rushed down her spine at the whole deception she and Ben had planned.

A chime at the door of Ben’s quarters on Hosnian Prime, the capital city, startled her, and they locked eyes. Now was the moment where she would face the First Order, but this time, instead of their prisoner, she was their leader. She was sure many of them would feel betrayed or unhappy, but Kylo Ren had given her this position, and it was her rightful place, according to their hierarchy.

“Come in, FL-8462,” Ben intoned through the speaker in the bland walls.

The door slid open to reveal a white stormtrooper flanked by four red Sith troopers, standing like tall spires of dead blood in the empty corridor. Behind them were the Knights of Ren, clad in their perpetual black. Ben had  _ their  _ loyalty if nothing else, having killed many to please Snoke and earn the rank of their master. “Supreme Leader, the ceremony is about to begin,” the stormtrooper said, falling to one knee.

Rey watched as Kylo’s face masked itself over Ben’s, a sneer curling his upper lip. His eyes narrowed as he said quietly, “You’re forgetting someone.”

“Sorry, sir--”

“Don’t apologize to  _ me _ , FL-8462.” His gaze flicked to Rey.

“I am sorry, my lady,” the stormtrooper said. “Follow me, if you would.”

Rey and Ben marched down the decadent hallway held up by massive pillars and arches, led by FL-8462 and trailed by the Knights and the Sith troopers, whose presence Rey couldn’t quite understand. After all, Ben had never been a Sith. But she had more important matters to think about.

They arrived on a tall platform overlooking a humongous--and crowded--plaza. People of all ages and species were assembled below, most likely forced to attend her coronation. But she couldn’t look as if she pitied them. The galaxy had to believe that she was with the First Order, that she had turned instead of Ben.

A horn sounded. Then for a brief moment, silence.

“We are gathered here today to witness a momentous occasion!” announced General Hux, who was standing on a platform below them. “The Supreme Leader has decided to share his reign with another. Rey of Jakku, once a lowly scavenger, and then a rebel Jedi, has allied with our cause! Today, she becomes your leader.”

A forced applause rose from the crowd in the plaza, and Rey’s face remained stony. This was being broadcasted to every edge of the galaxy. She knew the Resistance would see it, and she wondered how they would react.

Rey kneeled on a small cushion at the Supreme Leader’s feet. Numbly, she watched Ben’s large hands lift a tiara from the pedestal that stood between them and place it on her head. “This was my mother’s,” he whispered to her so the transmitters couldn’t catch his words, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. She would only be wearing it for this ceremony, however.

Ben stood straight again, his face now stoic as he offered her his hand. She took it, and they turned to face the silent crowd. No doubt, they were dumbfounded, and Rey most of all. The forced cheer rose again. Inwardly, Rey cringed. Or, perhaps, some of it was genuine. Perhaps, some of them had hope that she could change the galaxy. That’s what she was doing this for, wasn’t it?

***

Back in Ben’s quarters, Rey removed the crown from her braided hair, giving it to Ben, who set it gently, reverently, on a stand by his bed.

“You did always truly care about her, then,” Rey said, removing her outer cloak and laying it over a chair. She cocked her head to the right, eyeing him inquisitively. “Why did you betray your mother?”

“I thought--” Ben stopped, sitting on the bad and placing his head in his hands. When he began again, his voice was tight and higher than normal. “I thought that she hated me. I thought my father did, too. And Skywalker. I mean, Luke.”

“Why did you think that?”

“Darth Vader told me it was true. And as everyone in my life didn’t trust me, I believed him.”

“Darth Vader?” she asked, shocked.

Ben shook his head. “I thought it was him. But I’m beginning to believe that it was in fact--Snoke. I haven’t heard Vader’s voice since I killed him. And when Anakin visited me, I knew that it had never been real.” He hung his head, and his wavy black hair fell over his face, blocking it from view.

Rey walked to him, kneeling before him and placing her head on his lap, their fingers intertwining. She brought his fingers to her lips and kissed them. Ben Solo slowly raised his head, and their gazes met. She drew in a breath, feeling the Force of their bond flowing through them. She had never noticed before how beautiful his hazel eyes were, how long his eyelashes.

The next thing Rey knew, their faces were barely a knuckle-length apart. Her mouth parted as Ben’s hand cupped her face. His lower lip trembled as she reached up to stroke his hair. She closed her eyes.

“Excuse me, Supreme Leaders?”

They jumped back, suddenly thousands of parsecs away from each other. The voice was that of a stormtrooper through the transmitter in the wall. Rey breathed a sigh of relief. Ben, who’d fallen back on his mattress, looked as if a Wookie had just begun speaking in Galactic Basic.

“Um, Supreme Leaders?”

“Report, trooper,” Rey said, her voice calm but her heart racing. “All orders were canceled for today, what is it?”

A pause. “I have a transmission for you, Supreme Leader  _ Ren _ ,” the stormtrooper sneered, ignoring Rey. She frowned, her blood heating at his dismissal. “It’s coded. We aren’t sure where it’s coming from.”

“Supreme Leader Rey and I will be in the throne room in ten minutes,” Ben responded, looking as if he wanted to murder the man on the other end of the transmission.

“Yes, my lord.”

The transmission clicked off. “I have never been a Sith Lord,” Ben muttered to the quiet room. “I wonder why he called me that.”

“It’s because they assume the most of you, and the least of me,” Rey replied bitterly. “They assume you are as powerful as the Empire, descended from Darth Vader, and see me only as a lowly scavenger, a woman at that, who has nothing in her blood.”

“You’re not nothing to me, my love” Ben reminded her, taking her arm and drawing her close. They leaned against each other for a brief moment before Rey pulled away from him and drew in a deep breath.

“Let’s go,” she said, shaken by Ben’s words. “We need to get to the throne room.”

***

They arrived in seven minutes, halting awkwardly when they remembered that there was only one throne, albeit one that Snoke had never used, having only ever stayed on his dreadnought. There was a small part of Rey that desperately wanted to share the one seat with Ben, perhaps even sitting on top of him. But sensibly, she knew that would make her look more like a toy or decoration than a leader. “We’ll stand,” she said to him.

They marched to the throne, standing in front of it authoritatively. Rey could feel the uncomfortable stares of the Sith troopers behind them without seeing behind their masks, but she said nothing. The Knights of Ren were already waiting, semicircled around the throne.

“Where is the transmission?” Ben asked.

“Here, Supreme Leader,” Hux replied, stepping out from the shadows. He held in his hand a small comm device and pressed a button. A blue hologram filled the room, laced with static. Rey could barely make out the image of something round, something long destroyed and forgotten. The Death Star.

“Kylo Ren,” a snarly voice said. “You have something of mine.” It was a man’s voice, but twisted and painful to listen to. It sounded something like Death, and something like Sith. Something that she felt she should know, but didn’t. Something that felt intrinsically familiar. To her left, Ben stiffened. “Darth Sidious,” he whispered so only Rey could hear.

But it seemed as if the  _ thing  _ on the other end had heard as well. “It is I,” the Sith Lord cackled, his voice cracking through the bad connection. “And I know you have betrayed me. I know you have stolen what was mine to control. You will face the consequences.”

The transmission went dead. A chill shivered up Rey’s spine and she flexed her fingers nervously.

“We can’t tell who it is, Supreme Leader Ren,” Hux explained, putting his device away. “We’ve tried tracing the source, but it’s not coming from the galaxy, which might justify the poor connection.”

So, then. Hux nor any member of the First Order understood the context of the transmission. But what of the message itself? Rey wasn’t sure she understood it herself. What did Ben have that belonged to Darth Sidious?

They dismissed Hux and the stormtroopers, even the Sith troopers, leaving Rey and Ben alone with the Knights.

“My Knights,” Ben began. “I trust you with my life. You were the servants of the great Sith devotee, Ren, and now you are mine. I have seen you kill your kin to earn your rank. I have witnessed myself kill over and over, relentlessly, to lead you. I have seen your power, your devotion to the Dark Side. And now I ask you, do you hold the same loyalty to me, no matter the cost?”

“We do, my master,” the one to the far left said swiftly. The rest of them nodded, their expressions imperceptible under the heavy helmets they wore.\

“Thank you, Ap’lek,” Ben replied, lifting his chin. “Thank you  _ all  _ of you. Now. The voice you just heard, that was Darth Sidious.”

The Knights murmured among themselves, stopping only when Rey cleared her throat. “What is it you have of his, Be--Kylo?

“I don’t know,” Ben admitted, and Rey let out a sigh. Of course the Emperor would be that cryptic. “What I don’t understand,” she said, “is how he is returned.”

“He’s not,” Ben explained. “He’s caught between worlds. It must be why Hux can’t trace the transmission.” He groaned loudly in frustration and ignited his lightsaber, lifting it high in the air.

“Stop,” Rey said simply, her voice low. He did, his eyes widening as he calmed his anger. She placed her hand on his arm and pulled it down, pressing the button to extinguish the saber. Rey clenched her toes, annoyed. He needed to control himself if they were to be co-leaders. She saw him breathe in and out slowly and turn to face his Knights again.

“Search your feelings,” Ben told them. “All of you are strong with the Dark Side. Perhaps you will find a link to Sidious. It is imperative that we decode his message.”

***

Rey was alone in her rooms as Supreme Leader. She sat on the carpeted floor beside her lush bed, legs folded beneath her. Her eyes were closed as her mind traveled far and wide, searching for answers in the galaxy. The worlds of space glided through her thoughts like water. She was traveling in kiloparsecs, farther and farther and--

_ Rey. _

“Sidious,” she snarled, clenching her jaw. “What do you want from us?”

_ I want you to join me. _

“What does that have to do with any of this? Why even try to manipulate Ben? He’s on the Light Side now!”

_ But what about you? _

“What about me?” Rey asked dangerously.

_ I know something about you that you don’t know. I know who your parents are. I know who your grandparents are,  _ Sidious whispered.

Rey felt a single tear roll down her cheek, the feeling far away from her consciousness. “That’s a  _ lie _ ,” she spat. “Ben told me my parents were no one.”

She thought she heard the Sith Lord chuckle.  _ And that’s what he thought. But you, my dear, are not that at all. You are my granddaughter, Rey. _

The galaxy froze in that moment. She felt her body, from far away, slump to the floor. “No,” she breathed. “That can’t be true. You’re  _ lying _ !”

_ Search your feelings, young Palpatine _ , Sidious only said in reply.  _ You will find that you already know the answer _ .

And she did. She truly, deeply did. And she hated it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully those tesb vibes won't take over, but we are gonna keep drawing the parallels.


	9. Lineage and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rey, rose and the gang travel to exegol to investigate Darth Sidious but face some internal and external issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO WELCOME BACK! its corona time, which means we got lots of free time and alas, online classes. so I should be posting more often!

Rose Tico sat in the  _ Millenium Falcon _ backseat, Rey at her side, both of them staring out the front dashboard of the ship, where Poe piloted and Finn sat beside him. She was trying to process all the information she’d just heard, from Kylo Ren’s turn to the Light to Rey’s appointment as Supreme Leader. Stunned, Rose glanced over at Rey, who still seemed to be holding something back. It wasn’t her place to pry, of course. They barely knew each other. She hoped, though, that their friendship would grow in time.

“I can’t believe Ren would just turn like that!” Rose lamented for the millionth time. Rey gave no response, her lips tight and her brow furrowed. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. “He cares about me, I suppose,” the young Jedi murmured. “Now he rules the galaxy while I complete a secret mission, and yet, we work as one. It still feels strange.”

“Are you...okay?” Rose ventured, ready to pull back at any moment. Though she tried to keep her gaze fixed on the hyperspace tunnel that she traveled through, she couldn’t help but peek at Rey every so often. “You seem...distracted.”

Rey shrugged nonchalantly, though her face didn’t change one bit. “Just tired,” she said. “A lot has happened.” She stood and brushed nonexistent dust from her robes. “I’m going to take a brief rest before we get to Exegol,” she announced to the group.

“Go ahead,” Poe assured her as she flipped a switch, transferring the  _ Falcon  _ into automatic hyperdrive. “I’m a good pilot. I’ll keep an eye on her.” He patted the ship’s control board lovingly. “Anyways, I have Finn and Rose to help me.”

When Rey left, Rose frowned and let out a long sigh, her eyes trailing BB-8 as he rolled around the floor. They were headed to Exegol by way of the Sith Wayfinder that Kylo Ren had acquired, a  _ holocron _ , as Rey had called it. Yet, she wasn’t sure if the latter Supreme Leader had calculated in that Rose wasn’t a great fighter, and wouldn’t stand against Dark Side warriors. Rose didn’t even understand what the Sith were, or how the Force worked. All she knew was loyalty, courage, and her skills with mechanics. She was good at what she did, but was it enough? She felt so inconsequential next to Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, raised for battle, and Poe, one of the best star pilots out there. But Rey had wanted her to come, and what the Supreme Leader wanted is what she got. So, then, Rose was here, and a lucky thing that would be.

***

In the back of the ship, Rey lay down on the bottom bunk tucked into a corner, her hand covering her eyes. She couldn’t expel Darth Sidious’s voice from her head, his low snarl and sickening words that stuck to her brain like Bantha poo. She wanted to cry. And scream. She wanted to curse the Jedi that she’d communed with, Masters Skywalker and Yoda, for their treacherous lies. They  _ must  _ have known that Sidious was her grandfather. Right?

“Kriffing  _ be with me _ ,” she spat, anger infused in every word. “How kriffing _ dare you _ !”

“The second time this has happened this is, I fear,” came a scratchy voice from above her.

Rey lifted her head and immediately bonked it on the bunk above her. Cursing, she scooted off the cot and looked around. Master Yoda sat on the top bunk, his blue form wavering in the  _ Falcon’s  _ artificial light.

“What are you talking about?” Rey asked bitterly.

“He’s talking about me,” came another voice. Luke Skywalker appeared next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Yoda and Obi-Wan didn’t tell me that Darth Vader was my father. I found out from him, and it almost ruined me.” He turned to Yoda. “You never apologized for that, by the way.”

“Yoda had his reasons,” came a third voice. An old man that Rey didn’t recognize appeared, bending his body to sit on the stool in the corner. “You already know, Luke. We didn’t think that your father could be redeemed.”

“Well, well, Obi-Wan,” yet another voice chuckled, “you were wrong, weren’t you?”

Rey spun around again to see Anakin Skywalker lounging on the bottom bunk, twirling a ghostly lightsaber hilt in his grip. “Isn’t it a bit crowded in here?” she asked, frowning. “Nothing against you of course, Master Skywalker.”

Both Skywalkers turned at their name, though Anakin with an annoyed glare. “I’m not a Master, young Rey,” he sighed. “I was never appointed that rank.”

“You turned to the Dark Side before that could happen!” Obi-Wan argued, just as Master Yoda began to retort, “Not ready were you!”

“Everyone please be  _ quiet _ .”

They all silenced at the sound of Rey’s voice.

“Did you all know that the Emperor is my grandfather?” she asked cautiously.

They nodded slowly. “No excuse have we,” Yoda sighed. “Wrong we were to shield you, young Rey.”

She shook her head to clear it, still angry. “You made that mistake already, and yet you chose to take that path again?”

Again, silence. The Jedi Force ghosts seemed ashamed of themselves, their figures even more blurry than usual. Obi-Wan broke the silence. “I might as well tell you now that you are also my granddaughter.” All the eyes of the ghosts trained on the old man. “What?” he said casually. “Anakin’s not the only Jedi who--”

“On Rey’s issue, there is no way in all of the universe that Palpatine can go back to the Light,” Anakin interrupted, causing Obi-Wan to sniff. He tilted his head up, eyes suddenly intense. “Plus, he’s dead anyway. I killed him.”

“That you did, Skywalker,” Yoda mused. “Wonder I do why he is able to contact the living world...and if he can manipulate the living Force.”

“That would be impossible!” Obi-Wan said, taken aback. “We all sensed his spirit lose consciousness.”

“Did we?” Yoda replied. “Or simply a loss in power may we have felt?” He closed his eyes and the other Jedi followed suit, leaving Rey to stand awkwardly in the center of the bunk room.

“Meditate, Rey, and we’ll find the root of this mystery,” Luke told her, his eyes still closed. She joined the Force ghosts, her eyes fluttering shut and her mind reaching out to the Force. She sensed the life around her, dead and yet living, the woman in the cockpit near yet seemingly so far, the barrenness of empty space. She sensed the balance of the Force on the living planets, and the Dark too, speeding toward her like it had on Anch-To. It collapsed around her in ribbons, encasing her in its nightmare. She heard the Emperor’s voice, the same as in her Supreme Leader quarters, revealing the ugly truth. She could see that he was not alive, and yet, not quite gone. It was as if a fragment of his being had latched itself onto his son, his only blood, and his son had passed that fragment into her. Her life was the only way that Sidious was prevented from crossing to the netherworld.

The knowledge pulled her from her meditation sharply, making Rey cry out and open her eyes. The Force ghosts were gone, and Rose instead held her in her arms, rocking her gently. She felt the ship give a deadly shudder. The next thing she knew, she was in the bottom bunk, a golden metal hand placing a cool cloth to her forehead. “She has a great fever,” 3PO said to someone. She heard voices. Rose, Finn, Poe.  _ Where was she _ ?

Her mother came to her, brushing her cheek with a soft hand. She looked a little like Obi-Wan, now that Rey knew the relation. Her father was there, too, pushing hair out of her sweaty face. She shuddered at his touch, and looked up to see that it wasn’t her father at all, but instead the Emperor himself, gazing maliciously down at her. He Force threw her down into the hot sand of Jakku and drew a red lightsaber, daring her to duel. She found that she indeed had a weapon at her side, but it was also red--and double-bladed at that, like her staff. She had no choice, igniting it to block a thrust of her grandfather’s saber, and parried with a force that surprised even herself. Then the Emperor was gone, and she saw nothing but the vast desert ahead of her.

No, but it wasn’t a desert. She blinked and found herself staring into the eyes of Ben Solo, luminous as they were. He gave her his hand, and she took it. They faced each other with mutual respect--and there was something else too, a feeling she was too afraid to place. She could sense it though, as Ben’s lips floated dangerously towards hers and as she felt the cool expensive silk of First Order sheets behind her back and an aching feeling spread throughout her body.

***

Rose could hear voices in the back of the ship--well, no, just Rey’s voice. Perhaps she was talking to herself. She shrugged it off and kept chatting with BB-8, who was beeping excitedly about a new update that he was going to receive.

Just then, she heard a sharp scream, and the ship shook terribly, causing Rose to nearly fall off her seat. “What was that?” she asked Poe, who didn’t know either. BB-8 beeped in confusion, having rolled against a control wall. She and the droid scrambled to the back of the  _ Falcon _ , where C-3PO was rummaging around through the spare parts compartment. “Do we need to fix something, Mistress Rose?” he asked nervously as she passed.

“Maybe,” Rose replied, brushing him off. “Rey!” she shouted, jogging to the back of the ship. In the bunk room, Rey was alone, collapsed on the floor, pale and sweaty. She wasn’t moving.  _ Oh, kriff. _

Rose knelt by her side and placed a hand on her chest, sighing with relief when she felt a heartbeat. But the Supreme Leader was feverish, her face contorted in pain. “Finn! Threepio!” Rose called. “Get out the medical supplies!”

The golden protocol droid shuffled over not moments later, a kit in his hands, Finn right behind him. Rose dug through the box until she found a soft cloth and cooling fluid. She dabbed the cloth with the pink medicine--a common remedy across the galaxy--and placed it on Rey’s forehead.

“Help me lift Rey,” Rose told Finn. The two of them placed Rey on the bottom bunk, Rose giving a small grunt as she did so. The Jedi’s face twitched and her head thrashed, once, twice.

The  _ Falcon  _ shuddered again and Rose stood. “I’m going to check on the ship,” she said. “We might have to land prematurely.”

“I feel so helpless,” C-3PO muttered.

“Then stay with Rey. Keep refreshing the fluid with the medkit.”

3PO nodded, and Finn and Rose took their leave, rushing to the  _ Falcon’ _ s mechanical room. “Shit,” Rose said, assessing the damage, which seemed to have come from nowhere. The stabilizers had been fried somehow. They would need to land before reaching Exegol. “Finn! Get Beebee-ate down here!” she called. He did so, a worried look on his face as he lowered the astromech into her arms. The two of them worked to patch the hole where the fire or burn of some sort had taken place, BB-8 shooting out metal poles to prevent further damage.

Rose ascended the ladder and trudged to the cockpit as the Falcon dipped uncontrollably. “We need to land,  _ now _ ,” she told Poe, who pulled out of hyperspace. “Where are we?”

BB-8 beeped and booped in response.

“Endor?” she repeated. “The planet where the final battle of the Empire and Rebel Alliance took place?” BB-8 beeped in confirmation.

“I’m landing there now,” Poe announced, shifting the steering. The  _ Falcon  _ wobbled as they entered the atmosphere. “We’re going to crash,” he said unnecessarily. Rose closed her eyes as the light brightened around her, orange to yellow to white. The ship skidded against the packed earth and she clutched her half-moon necklace. They would be fine. Rey would be too. She could feel it.


	10. The Spark that Would Light the Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew finds themselves stuck on Endor, but meet Jannah, who leads them to a place where they can find help. Sparks fly between Finn and Poe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo yo yo whaddayaknow it's ya girl finally back with a chapter update!!! Now that I have a full outline, I should be posting fic chapters on a regular basis. Enjoy some stormpilot!

Poe’s vision was blindingly white. And then, slowly, he began to make out the shapes in front of him. There was someone dark, hovering close to his body.  _ Finn _ . He blinked, and the ex-stormtrooper backed off, his eyes shining slightly as they caught the bright, bright sunlight.

He then noticed the other figures surrounding him. Rose was there, Rey draped in her arms. The young jedi’s limbs twitched every few seconds, as if there was an annoying fly buzzing around her. Another woman, dark skin and bushy hair, wearing ragged clothing and some type of goggles or glasses on her forehead, had her arm around Rose, who was gently weeping. The woman’s eyes were fierce and unyielding as they surveyed the scene: Poe still strapped in the pilot’s seat, Finn crouched over him, and the two droids attempting to un-dent their metal sides. The _Falcon’_ s top had blown off in the crash. Poe felt a bout of grief overtake him at the sight of the old ship, now rendered useless.

“Where the kriff are we?” Poe demanded of the women, unbuckling himself and shooting up. He felt a wave of dizziness pass over him and immediately had to sit. He lifted a hand to the back of his head and it came back with a touch of blood. He cursed.

“You must have a concussion,” said the mystery woman, ignoring his question. “My people have a base not far from here. Look, I have a speeder.” She pointed at a rusty and old but functional speeder idling a few steps away. The woman turned to the man next to him. “Finn, help him up, please. He and Rey need immediate medical treatment.”

Finn did as he was told, gingerly placing one hand on Poe’s back and lending the other arm as a brace. The two of them hobbled over to the small speeder, and the women took her place in front of the controls. “I’m Jannah,” she finally announced, not bothering to turn around. “And you’re lucky you’re alive.”

Soon they arrived at a low cliff overlooking what seemed to be a village. A rickety path led down the steep side of the rock face, and the speeder was just narrow enough to cruise along it. Poe watched, enthralled, as Jannah turned onto a dirt road leading to a squat building that seemed to be built into the cliff. She parked the speeder and led them inside, where a few humans lay on cots. There were oddly no other species there.

“Imelda,” Jannah said to a portly woman who was leaning over a blonde boy in the far cot. The women jumped and smiled when she saw Jannah, though the grin faded a little as she took in the group behind her. Rose, Finn, Poe, the two droids, and if one counted Rey, being carried, made sixc crowding the area.

“This woman has a high fever and is having fits,” Jannah explained, pointing at Rey, whose face was still screwed in pain. And this man hurt his head, probably a concussion.” She gestured at Poe, who smiled nervously.

Imelda nodded sternly. “I can help, if you pay, that is.”

“Of course,” said Poe. “We have credits.”

“I don’t want credits,” Imelda replied stubbornly. “I want  _ that _ .” One pudgy finger was aimed at C-3PO, who looked around inquiringly, as if someone hadn’t even glanced at him.

“No,” Poe replied fiercely. “Not Threepio.”

“Then no deal,” said Imelda, returning to the blonde boy.

“Wait!” Rose cried. She seemed on the verge of tears. “It will be my fault if Rey dies. Please,  _ please  _ help us.”

“You don’t want Goldenrod, anyway,” Poe shrugged. “He’s the most useless droid I’ve ever met!”

“Ex- _ cuse _ me, Master Poe,” C-3PO interjected. “I am fluent in--”

“Shut it, Goldie. We know.” Poe was beginning to feel some sort of affection for the droid, and found his antics amusing, but if it came down to him or his two closest friends… “Fine. Take him,” Poe muttered, his eyes not willing to look at the droid, whose protests still sounded throughout the small room.

“Excellent,” Imelda chirped, a smile returned to her face. “Jannah, you may of course stay, if you’d like. You are always welcome, my dear.” She took Rey from Rose and lay her on one of the cots, placing a cool rag on her forehead. She sat down Poe on the cot next to her, then left the room, returning with a bucket of supplies.

Poe felt the cot move a tad as Finn sat beside him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tight. Several steps away, Jannah and Rose were smiling at each other, though Rose’s eyes still flicked to where Rey was sleeping. BB-8 had self-deactivated and was recharging at one of the outlets. “I’m so glad you’re alive,” Finn murmured, his voice almost a whisper. “If you’d died…”

“Good thing I didn’t,” Poe replied, moaning in relief when Imelda brought him an ice pack and Finn placed it to his head. He glanced at Rey, who now had a long wire attached to her forehead somehow. The wire led in turn to a flickering blue screen, where readings were being taken. Poe noticed that whatever the machine was recording, it was erratic. He turned back to look at Finn.

The gaze on his friend's face was close to frightening. Finn’s eyes were fierce as they locked onto Poe’s, and Poe suddenly felt his heart speed up. He noticed, then, how dry his lips were and quickly licked them. He watched as Finn mirrored the movement, staring, if possible, even deeper into his eyes. He was...drowning.

Poe saw the man sitting next to him just as he’d seen him the first time, a man finally free of powerful brainwashing, skin dark and beautiful with the light sheen of sweat, eyes genuine and determined. Eyes that said,  _ I will help you escape because it’s the right thing to do _ . But now, Poe wondered if the action had been rooted in something else. Or perhaps a mix of both.

Suddenly, without him realizing it, Poe’s hand was caressing Finn’s face. “I--” he began.

Finn shook his head slowly, silencing him. His lips were so much closer now, full and tantalizing. Poe closed his eyes, leaned forward, and met them with his own. After a chaste, yet slow, kiss, he pulled away, but not before Finn could grab him again, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace, their lips crushing each others’ again, but this time, deeper, more passionate. Poe felt Finn’s tongue slip into his mouth and he gasped. He’d been with men before. He’d been with women before. But he’d never felt the way he felt now. Finn’s eyelashes were long and dark, his hands and muscles powerful around Poe’s body. Poe watched as Finn tore off his jacket--the jacket that had once been his--and reached for the hem of Finn’s shirt. But before he could lift it off Finn’s chest, a voice cleared its throat behind him.

“Finn?” A voice asked questioningly, strong with a refined accent. They turned to see Rey sitting up, her eyes puffy and face pale. “Poe?” She smirked at them as Finn pulled on his jacket once more and they rushed over to her cot.

“Rey, I’m so glad you’re alright,” Finn breathed, placing one hand on hers. The three of them hugged each other tight, while Rose stood awkwardly to one side. “Oh, come here, won’t you?” Rey chuckled at her, making Rose smile and hesitantly approach the group. They were all together now.  _ They  _ were the spark that would light the flame that would burn the First Order to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!!! As always, kudos, praise, and feedback are always appreciated. Stay safe, everyone!


	11. The Path to the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey travels to Exegol and finds herself instead in an ancient, long-forgotten realm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi folks! how is everyone doing? I'm back with a new chapter and things are really going to kick forward plot-wise in the next few chapters so buckle in! (oml that sounds so corny but whatever I said it)

Rey found herself greatly doted upon the next few days. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to her when the  _ Falcon  _ had crashed, but she wasn’t willing to share her revelations yet. She was terrified and miserable, though she put on a smile each day. Her fever was starting to go down and her brain energy levels were approaching normalcy again. It all didn’t matter. She’d be dead by the time this was over. She knew, now, that she had to sacrifice herself to save the galaxy, to kill her grandfather once and for all. It was the only way.

Rey wished more than anything that Ben was with her, but he was still leading the First Order parsecs away. Being without him was an ache in her chest, in her very soul. But it still wouldn’t matter with her fast-approaching end. Perhaps it was best to never confront her tumultuous emotions dealing with Ben. Perhaps it was better to never see him again. She didn’t know what she would do, what she would say, if she saw him, anyway.

_ Hi, Ben, I’m going to go sacrifice myself to save the galaxy! See you in the afterlife! _

_ I didn’t know what to tell you when you called me “my love,” but I don’t have time to answer because Darth Sidious will kill you if I don’t kill myself first. Bye! _

_ Did I mention that Darth Sidious is my grandfather and that a piece of his spirit lives on in me, tethering him to the galaxy? I did? I didn’t? Doesn’t matter, I’m gonna die now! _

It all sounded ridiculous, no matter how differently she phrased it. So no, Ben was better off left in the dark, just like the rest of her friends. What Rey did need, however, was a ship. She was torn between asking and just plain old stealing. Or, maybe, she could cut a deal, if she was lucky.

The sun was long set when Rey rose from her cot and quietly unhooked herself from the reading machine. Finn and Poe lay together in one of the tiny cots, their bodies entwined, and Rey again felt a pang of sadness and longing, even jealousy. She wanted what they had. But for her, it had never been easy. And she’d never have love. Why would one even bother to love a person that was going to be dead in a few days?

Rey crept past them, wiping her eyes quickly. Rose was asleep on the next cot and Jannah on the one after, their arms hanging off the edges and fingers nearly touching. Rey wondered if they had once been holding hands. The thought brought her misery back, and so she pushed it away.

Outside the small med center, the village was quiet and unassuming in the slightly glimmering light of the sun reflecting off the nearest planet. Rey used the dimness to her advantage, creeping along the dirt lane until she found what she needed: a one-person fighter that had probably once belonged to the First Order, or perhaps, by the ancient look of it, the Republic or Empire.

She picked up a small stick from the ground and thanked the Force that the fighter was from an older time as she inserted the twig into the lock of the hatch and it swung open. It was a gem, a relic from an old age, Rey realized as she examined it closer. But there wasn’t much time. Rey quickly hoisted herself into the chair and shut the hatch, the engine roaring to life on the silent road.

Rey cursed as a light shone from inside the home where the fighter was parked and she flicked the switch required to take off, finally rising from the ground and over the cliff face just as a face poked their head outside the door. “You--COME BACK! THIEF!” shouted the voice, but it was too late. Rey was gone, rising yet higher into the atmosphere and away from Endor.

This was an old, small vessel, one that could still travel through hyperspace but needed a connecting entry to do so. It probably had been flown by the Jedi generals during the Clone Wars. Rey flicked on the tracking beacon, locating an entry vessel not far from Endor. She clicked the flighter in, and suddenly, the ship was in a tight hyperspace tunnel, blue storm-like views showing through the top window hatch.

Rey pulled out the Sith holocron, the Wayfinder, from where it had been hidden in the folds of her robe. Rose had placed it there while she’d been unconscious and under a high fever. Carefully, slowly, Rey placed the Wayfinder into the coordinates slot, the magnetic wires bending to match the holocron.

Suddenly, a great crash rocked the fighter, and Rey gripped her seat for balance. The fighter rolled, once, twice, before exiting hyperspace. At first, there seemed to be nothing but empty space. Then, with a slow sense of foreboding, Rey realized that the dark sphere in front of her, ringed by blinding light,  _ was  _ Exegol, the famed refuge of the Sith. Exegol, it seemed, was not a planet at all, but a black hole.

There was nothing she could have done to avoid it, even if she wanted to. The pull of the black hole was pure gravity, pure magnetism. Rey felt a sick sense of fitting as she felt the fighter get sucked closer. Was this her destiny, after all? To find the remains of what the Sith had been, and bury herself within the folds of Darkness?

Before long, she could see nothing at all. The light of the dying star was simply...gone. Rey took in a deep, ragged breath. Then, as if her soul could sense her loneliness in the darkest place of the universe, the Force Dyad pulled at her spine.  _ No _ . She couldn’t tell Ben what she was doing. But it was too late. He was suddenly sitting across her on the dash of the fighter, his massive frame curled under the hatch.

“Ben,” she choked out, her heart catching in her throat. “Y-you have to k-keep leading. I--I don’t know if I can--” A lump filled her throat and tears slid down her cheeks. Ben leaned toward her, face scrunched with worry. His soft finger pad slid a tear from her cheek--except it didn’t. He wasn’t there. Ben wasn’t there. Rey was alone as she descended into the gravity of Exegol, her body pulling itself apart and the metal around her screeching.

Without warning, the immense pressure lifted. The noise around her silenced itself. The black hole of Exegol had disappeared, and in its place was a beautiful planet, ethereal and not fully corporeal. It was legendary. None had witnessed it, at least from what she knew.  _ Mortis _ .

Rey felt at ease as the fighter she still was encased in drifted towards the odd planet. She felt as if she were in a dream as she floated through the clouds and through the thin atmosphere, finally landing gently on soft green grass. The hatch of the fighter popped open and Rey jumped out, her arms swinging slightly at her sides as she meandered her way towards the great stone tower in the distance. She couldn’t quite remember why she was here, or why she was alone, or why her head hurt as if a hundred wookies had sat on it.

She reached the entrance to the tall fortress, the door swinging open to reveal a lone man sitting on a sharp throne, his long beard reaching halfway down his chest. He wore what seemed to be a pale purple cape and shawl mixed into one with a matching hat, and he was flanked by two figures that towered over him: a man with pale skin marred by red lines that seemed to drip from under his eyes to the sides of his sharp cheekbones, who wore dark red and black robes, and a woman, whose pale skin and sea-green hair seemed to glow, just like her clothes--white robes that dipped in a narrow vee and pooled at her ankles.

The figures did not seem surprised to see her. In fact, they spoke to her, their three voices resonating pleasantly in her ears. “We are the  _ Ones _ . The  _ Father _ , the  _ Son _ , and the  _ Daughter _ . You are the granddaughter of the Sith Lord. You are the only one who can destroy him, with the sacrifice of your life.”

This, she knew. Rey bit back a retort as the figures continued, “You are blessed with the power of the Dark--” The male figure stepped forward. “--and the power of the Light.” The female stepped forward, her robes billowing slightly as she did so.

“Darth Sidious lives in you, insignificant child,” the Son said to her, as if repulsed by the fact that she was standing before him, a warrior of the Light who held the only living semblance of the Dark. “You are my only hope for the restoration of the old ways.”

“The Sith--”

“Not the  _ Sith _ ,” the Son spat. “They didn’t learn, did they? They killed themselves off through weakness and impatience. No, my child. I speak of something greater. I speak of  _ you _ .”

“M-me?”

“You,” began a softer voice. The Daughter stepped in front of her brother, her glow obfuscating his presence. “Do not be seduced, young one,” she continued. “You are also the granddaughter of the greatest warrior of the Light, Obi-Wan Kenobi.” She smiled fondly, as if reliving an old memory. “He came here, once. I know you will choose his path. And, like my brother, I speak of something beyond the Jedi. I speak of pure goodness, a break from the old ways, a new order, guardians of the Light.”

Rey’s head spun in circles. She didn’t understand. Wasn’t that what the Jedi had been so long ago?

“No,” boomed a third voice, this time emanating from the man on the throne. The Father stood and walked slowly down the stairs before him, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You need both Light and Dark to survive. You cannot survive with only an abundance of the former or the latter. And that means, young one...that you need your  _ Dyad _ .”

_ Ben _ . The thought grounded her to reality, and suddenly Rey was being hurtled back to her ship, the fighter whisked away beyond the reaches of Mortis, and when Rey finally opened her eyes, she found that there was something there, something in the back of her mind that she couldn’t reach. Something there that she couldn’t remember at all. Instead, there was a new presence in her mind, a presence that had been lying dormant for her entire life, but among the sheer Force power of Mortis, had reared its ugly head, and like a snake, poisoned her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, if you enjoyed, be sure to leave kudos and praise/feedback! I always love comments<3 Stay safe and see you next week!
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENT: NEXT WEEK'S CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED ON MONDAY, _MAY THE 4TH_ , INSTEAD OF TUESDAY!


	12. Two Sides of a Coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey returns to Ben from her time with the Resistance, bearing surprising changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY STAR WARS DAY!! Hope everyone's doing well (I'm not after the Clone Wars finale) and not too sad that today must be spent in quarantine ~~and crying over the dead clones and Jedi~~ Please enjoy some reylo angst:)

Ben Solo was sweating under his Supreme Leader robes, a heavy black material that had been stitched together on some faraway planet. His Knights stood around him as he surveyed the empty throne room...although he couldn’t really be sure if they were, in fact,  _ his  _ Knights anymore. After all, though they had served the great Ren once, Ben was no longer the self-proclaimed heir. He was a falsehood, a liar. 

He wondered, though, if the Knights of Ren would serve him if they knew he had joined the Light. There was only one way to find out.

“My Knights, my soldiers,” he began. “We have fought together. We were forged together.” And then he told them. He could trust no other persons in the First Order with this secret, save Rey.

After a long silence, the Knight on the left pulled out his weapon. He flipped it in his gloved hands a few times in indecision, finally laying it at Ben’s feet. He dropped to his knees and his hands rose to the sealed clasps that held on his helmet and pressed them. The helmet rose from the Knight’s head with a soft hiss, and he dropped it mournfully on the ground.

“Kylo Ren,” he mumbled. “I have sworn myself to you. I will not betray you, though you have betrayed us. You have betrayed our cause!”

The other Knights fell around Ben in a semicircle, their helmets replaced with grim, pained expressions. They had dark eyes and light, they were humanoid and muunoid and everything in between, they were scaled and skinned and feathered. Their eyes glowed yellow in the red light of the throne room, dimming slowly as their anger faded into misery. Long had they lived lives tethered to the Dark Side. Long had they defended the traditions of the Sith, though that legacy was long scorned and almost forgotten--and despite the fact that they could never become true masters. And Kylo Ren had now betrayed them, but they couldn’t bear to fight him, not after all they had been through. And so they instead kneeled before him, swearing fealty once more.

“I’m--I’m sorry,” Ben said. And he was. He tapped his brothers on the shoulder in turn, asking them to rise. They did, one by one, without any hint of a mutinous glare.

Ben sighed. “Thank you, my Knights. We still fight together. We still kill together, if necessary.” He turned on his heel, leaving them to stew with their thoughts.

A moment passed, and the next, his wrist was chiming with a new transmission. “Supreme Leader,” Hux announced in that reedy voice of his, “Supreme Leader Rey is requesting access to land.”

“She doesn’t need  _ permission _ ,” Ben spat at him, his temper taking over as it always did. He took a few calming breaths before continuing. “Let her dock, General Hux.” When the commlink went silent, Ben rushed to the landing platform, watching as a slim, ancient-seeming fighter from the days of the Republic shuddered into the bay. Rey was inside, her expression almost frightening.

When she stepped out of the ship, Ben saw that her customary black Supreme Leader robes were torn in a few places, and her hair was a wild mess. What’s more, her gaze was penetrating, fiercer than Ben had ever seen it as she marched straight to him.

“Ben,” Rey said stiffly, spine straight and unyielding. “Let’s go.” She led the way to their quarters without any further comment, her footsteps echoing along the palace hall. He followed her, slightly bewildered at her attitude, but nevertheless sure that it was for the act that they put on together.

They came to the point in the hall where their quarters split into two; Rey’s chambers on the right and his on the left. Rey marched into her room without asking Ben to follow, but expecting it. She shut the door behind them, expression still fierce. Then suddenly, Ben felt himself being thrown back on the bed, Rey’s hands outstretched as she used the Force to pin him there, and before he could say a word, her lightsaber ignited. Was it a trick of the light, or had the blade appeared red? But no, as she brought the sizzling heat to his throat, a caress, really, Ben saw that it was his uncle’s saber, his grandfather’s saber, the same blue as always.

An acute pain bloomed somewhere on the lower half of Ben’s face, sharp and ruthless. He smelt the acrid scent of burning flesh a moment later, and let out an involuntary squeal. Rey shushed him quietly as he whimpered, a small smile playing on her lips. “You deserve worse than this,” she said, head dipping slowly as she did so. The blade was suddenly gone, and her fingers were tracing his scar, the slight pressure of her nail sending shivers down his spine. He’d never felt this way before, this raw sense of want--of  _ need _ \--as her body inched closer, her lush figure rising over him, blocking out the ceiling lights.

Rey slid her hand over the soft sheets, her hand digging into Ben’s hair and tugging at it, making him whine pitifully. Ben knew that his face must have been scarlet, but he dared not say a word.

Then, just as her lips were less than an eyelash-length away, so close that he could see the golden flecks in her eyes, Rey stopped. Those same lips curled into an odd grin, one he’d never seen on her face before. Ben noticed then, that those beautiful golden flecks weren’t really flecks at all--no. Rey’s eyes had changed, had lightened to a sickeningly familiar yellow. There were the eyes he’d seen on Snoke. Eyes he’d seen on himself. Sith eyes. Eyes of the Dark Side.

Ben tried to pull away, but it was useless. Rey seemed to be using something more than her own power. It was raw fury in her Force grip, the fury of generations. It wasn’t her.

“R-Rey, stop,” he choked, attempting in vain to move his arms, his hands, at least his fingers. But all to no avail--Ben was as frozen as the icy planet of Hoth.  _ Grandfather _ , he thought.  _ Save me, please. _

A few moments passed in utter silence. Then, suddenly, with a breath of fresh air and a burst of a divine sort of energy, Ben could move. Silently thanking Anakin, he seized Rey’s wrists and flipped her over, pinning her under him. “Stop, Rey, this isn’t you!” he cried, leaving a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Fight it, my love.”

At those words, the beautiful Jedi stilled, her eyes darkening to their usual brown. Her lower lip wobbled as her eyes scanned the scene, landing, Ben noticed, on the Force-induced bruises she’d inflicted on his neck. “Oh, Ben,” Rey whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. “I--I don’t know w-what--”

“Shh,” he whispered to her, caressing her cheek. She leaned into his touch and he felt his eyes dampen as well. “I’m here. I’m here.”

Her soft sobs filled the empty bedroom as Ben lay at her side, stroking his back and holding her hand. He was there for her. He’d always be.

“I’m going to get ice,” Ben said after some time had passed. “You’re burning up.”

She nodded faintly as he stood, her head barely lifting off the expensive bed sheets.

Ben felt a wave of dizziness overcome him as he took a step, and another. He brought a hand to his neck, feeling the already rising lumps there, and felt a bout of nausea creep through his system. Despite everything he’d seen and done as Kylo, Ben still couldn’t stomach the most basic of things. He felt his knees crumple beneath him, and the fevered heat of Rey approach him as he lay on the soft carpet of his chambers. “Oh,  _ Rey _ ,” he whispered. “My l-love.”

Then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed today's (slightly) early chapter. Things are really heating up and the end is near! if you liked it, please leave kudos and a comment of praise/feedback. stay safe & may the fourth be with you!!!


	13. A Moment of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben recover in the medbay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm excited to announce that I've officially finished writing all chapters except the epilogue, and I've finished the semester, so I'll be writing a lot more now! Therefore, I'm gonna be posting chapters more often than once a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays until everything is posted (this should be around two weeks). I am so proud of this fic, my baby. Enjoy!
> 
> Also: this is a shorter chapter, sorry about that, but the next few should be longer!

Rey sat on the edge of her sterile white seat, her body stiff from leaning towards her fellow Supreme Leader. Ben was lying semi-upright on a med table, his head propped on a fluffy pillow, albeit a clinical one. Every so often, he would stir, his head turning one way or another, making his soft black waves drift around his face.

When he’d had to be undressed and changed into the med robe, Rey had helped shamelessly, though not failing to notice his gorgeous body. It was a stupid thing, really, and Rey was ashamed that the thought had even crossed her mind in the process.

Of course, the med droids had ordered her to sit, weak as she had been. After a few moments of verbal struggle, Rey had acquiesced and been taken to lie on the med table next to Ben. Her treatment was over sooner than his; she had already begun to heal on Endor when the... _ encounter _ (something she still didn’t fully understand) had left her feverish again.

Ben on the other hand…

He sported dark purple and blue bruises that bloomed down his jaw and onto his collarbone. Rey couldn’t remember well, but she was sure she hadn’t placed her hands there. No--these were the marks of the Force, although Rey had certainly been at fault.

Along his chin and jaw, red, blistered skin glared angrily up at her. She’d left him another scar with her lightsaber, she realized. He was nonetheless the most beautiful creature she’d ever laid eyes on.

But it was his mind, most of all, that Rey worried about. Hers as well, though she didn’t care to admit it. She’d attacked him, without provocation or even a sense of self, and she was furious. The details of the previous nights were still faulty and fuzzy in her mind, but she had no doubt that the blame could only be placed on her.  _ She  _ had ignited her saber.  _ She  _ had nearly killed Ben. She’d nearly killed the person that mattered most to her, a person that she might even--

The thought stopped there, cut off by some imaginary force or blockade in her mind. In moments of crisis, the thought came unbidden to her, but she couldn’t allow it to stay there for long. Ben loved her, she knew. Did she--?

The machine that Ben was hooked up to suddenly gave a loud beep and Rey shot out of her seat, her hands finding those of the man lying on the table in front of her.

“Get out of the way,” a med droid behind her said stiffly. “You’re blocking the panel.”

“Oh--sorry,” Rey mumbled, stepping away to let the med droid access Ben’s machine. After a few moments of silent apprehension and worry, the med droids whirred away, revealing a smiling, albeit paler than usual, Supreme Leader Ben Solo, who propped himself up on his elbows and scanned the room. His eyes landed on her, widening as they did so, and his expression of joy grew wider.

“Rey,” he breathed, the one syllable sounding glorious on his tongue. She smiled back at him as his arms wrapped around her. She helped him to sit up, gently, and then perched herself on the table. “I need to know--” she began, heart pounding. “I need to know--”

“--what happened,” Ben finished for her. “You scared the shit out of me. I was sure I was…” He trailed off when he saw her pained face. “I’m sorry. That’s not it, is it? You want to know what happened to you.”

She nodded, her lower lip sliding between her teeth nervously. “I had--a vision, Ben.” She told him of Exegol--the trap, the great black hole of nothingness, the surprising pain of gravity as it pulled her close and the sudden change of scenery. “That’s where I don’t remember anything,” Rey sighed, her head falling onto Ben’s shoulder. “I can only recall bits and pieces, blurry colors and shapes.”

“You were like a Sith,” Ben told her suddenly. Rey’s head shot off his shoulder, and she looked at him directly in the eye when she asked, “H-how?”

He didn’t break her stare as his hand reached forward and pushed a stray lock from her face. “Your eyes went all yellow,” he whispered. “You were strong--so strong. And fucking furious.”

She broke his gaze, her eyes falling to where his hand had come to rest on her thigh. “I’m not--who you think I am, Ben,” she said, pushing his hand slowly away. “My grandfather, he was...he was Darth Sidious.”

Ben’s reaction was less climactic than she’d expected. His eyebrows shot up, but other than that, he was still. He didn’t pull away, his lip didn’t curl. It was as if she’d just told him that Hux had gotten engaged. And then she remembered--his grandfather had once been an evil entity as well. “You don’t care?” she asked timidly.

“Why would I? You’re not him, just as I am not Vader.” The declaration was a tad ironic, considering that not too long ago, that’s who Kylo Ren had aspired to be. “You make your own choices. You are your own person.”

“Was it me, then?”

“What?”

“Was it  _ me _ , then, who tried to kill you?” Rey could feel every one of her muscles tense at the terrifying thought. Was she so far gone that she couldn’t even control an urge to kill? And urge she never knew she had?

“No, that wasn’t you,” Ben said, interrupting her thoughts. “That was...something else.”

Rey knew what that “something else” was. It had haunted her since the crash of the  _ Millenium Falcon _ . The Lord of Lords, disgustingly her grandfather, had passed a living remnant of his spirit to her through his son, her father. She wanted to vomit at the mere thought.

“I have to destroy him,” Rey whispered to Ben, grabbing his wrist so tightly that he flinched.

“Palpatine?” he asked.

“Palpatine,” she responded. “A small part of him lives. And it’s up to me to kill it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always I appreciate kudos and comments of praise and/or feedback. See you on Thursday!


	14. The Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew discovers Rey's absence. In the FO, Hux uncovers a plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyyyyyyyyyy what's up it's ya girl with another chapter as I promised, updating more frequently! We're nearing the end!!!! so excited aah

The bright sun that the moon of Endor cycled around was high in the sky when Finn rose from his slumber. He looked around, shooting up from the cot frantically when he noticed that Poe, who had been curled in front of him the previous night, was gone.

“Poe? Poe!” he called, stumbling through the med center, the silence around him seeming to thicken. He noticed that Rey was gone too, her cot empty without the trace of a dent from where she’d been laying with fever for several days. The crew had stayed at her side, day and night; there was nowhere else for them to go, really, with the  _ Falcon  _ gone, and her absence--as well as that of the rest of the crew--only fueled his worry.

“Rey!” Finn yelled, rushing out into the bright sun. “Rose! Poe? You son of a bitch, where are you?”

Someone tapped his shoulder with a heavy hand. Fin spun around, only to see the very man he’d been calling for right behind him. “Poe Dameron, you kriffing scared the shit out of me!” He wrapped his arms around the Resistance pilot quickly, Poe returning the gesture with a confused grin. “We were only in the back supply room,” he told Finn, cupping his face with one hand. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

Finn glanced behind Poe to see Rose, Jannah, and the little droid, BB-8, filtering out from behind the back curtain. C-3PO, of course, was tottering behind Imelda, carrying a tray with what looked like tweezers and a bottle filled with a blueish substance, on the other side of the room. But there was someone missing.

“Where’s Rey?” Finn asked desperately, the worry for his best friend rising in his chest once again. “What--”

“Shh,” Poe said to him, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “We’re looking for her.”

“You don’t know where she is?” Finn responded, his voice rising in pitch.

Poe looked uncomfortable. “Jannah woke up this morning, real early, and she wasn’t there. Now...there’s a man in the village who said his antique Republic-era fighter went missing. It’s probable that Rey took it.”

“Why would she--”

“You know how she is.”

It was true. Once Rey had even the slightest spark of an idea, she took it upon herself to act upon it immediately. And she was brash, and impulsive, and crazy. Finn stepped away from Poe, turning to stare into the bright sun, though it pained him. “If anything happens to her, I don’t know if I’d be able to forgive myself.”

“She’s not yours to protect, Finn,” the pilot behind him said. Finn stepped back into the med center, sliding the door shut behind him. He noticed that Poe had an odd expression on his face, but he couldn’t place it.

“Rey has Ben Solo,” Rose piped up, making them all look down to make eye contact with the short mechanic. “And he has connections, obviously.”

“ _ Ben Solo _ ,” Finn spat, “is nothing more than a sham. I don’t trust Kylo Ren with a single  _ millimeter  _ of her.”

“Well, she does!” Rose shot back hotly, just as Poe replied, “What about us, then?”

Finn stood there silently, mulling their retorts over in his mind. “What about you? We’re fine!” he finally said to Poe, who was leaning against one wall, arms crossed.

“We don’t have a way out of here! And we are really all that’s left of the Resistance! Leia can’t survive without us--”

“--and you’re worrying that _Rey_ ’s had a lapse in judgment?” Rose continued. “She’s a fully grown woman, Finn, it’s _you_ who needs to grow up!”

Finn was stunned. How dare they suggest--that because of his upbringing--or lack thereof--? But they really hadn’t said anything of that sort at all. Perhaps Finn was just overreacting. It was, after all, a sensitive spot for him. He flopped down on the nearest cot in frustration, then immediately regretted it when the hard wood beneath the thin mattress met his bones.

After a few moments, Rose said, “What we need to do is contact General Leia. The Resistance still has a few ships, I’m sure we can get one here to pick us up and get us back into action.” She turned to Jannah, who had been staring at her intently this entire exchange. “Is there any sort of comm we can make from this moon?”

“There’s one,” Jannah replied, eyes lingering on Rose’s round face. “I’ll take you all to it.”

***

General Leia Organa was asleep when she got the comm, the time difference from across the galaxy interfering with much of the communication she received. Nevertheless, the tone of the incoming link was loud enough that she pried open her eyes, pulled her hair into a tight bun, and went to her built-in commlink in the war room to receive it.

She was surprised to see the fretting faces of Finn and Poe standing there, their blue electronic forms wavering in the dim light. Behind them stood the chubby young mechanic--who Leia certainly needed to make an effort to get to know--and a woman she didn’t recognize, with dark skin and bushy hair, high cheekbones, and a rough appearance, as though she’d been living far from civilization.

“Where have you all been?” asked Leia, feeling as if she was scolding a group of children. “I was told that you were going to Exegol for information to defeat the First Order! This doesn’t look like what I imagine that wretched place to be.” She scanned the group again. “And where’s my padawan?”

“Rey left us,” Finn explained, his voice sounding irritated. “We crashed on Endor and she was up in a high fever for a few days. Now she’s gone.”

Leia was shocked. “Did she say  _ where _ ?”

“We think she went to rejoin--” Poe paused. “Rejoin your son.”

_ I don’t have a son anymore _ , Leia wanted to say. Instead, she asked, “Why would she do that, Poe Dameron?”

It was Finn who responded. “She claims he’s returned to the Light and is working to overturn the First Order on the inside. And I think…” He didn’t need to finish; Leia knew. She could see it in her apprentice’s eyes when Rey talked about him, the enemy she was supposed to defeat, yet couldn’t. And so--she seemed to have chosen the path of Leia’s twin brother. Luke had been too kindhearted, too loyal, to kill his father. Rey, though unrelated to him, seemed to have inherited that instinct. And as Leia had maintained earlier, she’d have to trust Rey’s decisions. She could only go along with what the younger generation had planned.

“General Leia?” came Finn’s voice out of the blue. She realized she’d been silent for quite a while, and smiled at him. “I know, Finn. We have to trust her.”

“But, General--”

“That’s my final word, soldier.” He lowered his head, slightly mollified at her rebuke, but otherwise said nothing. “Now,” Leia continued, “I need to get you back here. I can send a ship. I take it” --she took a breath-- “that the  _ Falcon  _ was destroyed in your crash?”

Finn and Poe nodded mournfully. Leia felt a strained expression cross her face, but she quickly pushed her emotion back down. “It’s too bad,” she said quietly. “Han loved that old piece of junk.”

She pulled herself together. “Artoo-Detoo will pilot the ship I’m sending you, so it will be small. I think it can fit...the four of you.” She frowned. “Where’s Threepio?”

“We had to trade him,” Poe said sadly. “For Rey’s treatment. I’m sorry.”

Jannah, this entire time, had been noting the exchange with a shrewd look on her countenance. “I’ll get that droid back,” she promised the group. “It seems like he means a lot to you.”

Leia nodded briefly. “Send him back with Artoo, if you can. I know they’ll probably miss each other.”

***

In the heart of the First Order, something else was going on. General Armitage Hux was going through security footage in secret, his heart beating quickly in fear of being found by the first Supreme Leader, who was otherwise incapacitated, lying on a med table with the second at his side. The whole scenario was decidedly suspicious and had prompted Hux to examine their past activity. It seemed, that in the rush of recent events, Kylo Ren had failed to deactivate the security holocams and recording devices, leaving his and Reys’ conversations ripe for the taking.

He heard their plans, heard their doubts and whispers, and he launched into action, readying the stormtroopers for battle if that’s what it would take. Hux had long been shunted by Snoke, and then Ren. He was tired of being second or third. He tested the words out in his mouth-- _ Supreme Leader Armitage Hux- _ -no more of this “General” nonsense.

Hux had found Ren’s weakness--the insignificant girl from some insignificant planet--and he would make sure she stayed that way. How could she, a mere scavenger, have earned the place of Supreme Leader ahead of  _ him _ ? His face contorted at the thought.

With one gloved hand, the general flicked a switch, dismissing the footage. He brushed his hands together with a sneer on his face as he exited the security room and into the hall, his eyes blazing. “Your time is over,  _ Supreme Leaders _ ,” he spat. “And not short enough it was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading and don't forget kudos/comments! stay safe!!


	15. Revelations and Infilterations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Order realizes what's going on, and Rey and Ben finally have to take a stand. Meanwhile, the Resistance formulates a plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VALIDATION FOR US REYLOS!!! and lowkey stormpilot action as well;)

An alarm blared across the palace of the Supreme Leaders. Ben Solo threw himself off the med table quickly, nearly knocking aside Rey in the process. “We’re under attack,” he muttered to himself. “We’re under attack? Rey, you told them--”

“I did,” she agreed, a panicked expression intensifying on her countenance. “The Resistance knows not to go into battle. We couldn’t, anyway, we don’t have the forces necessary for such a breach!”

_ It’s a trap, _ Ben thought to himself,  _ but from who? _ It didn’t matter. He pelted down the hall, reaching his quarters with Rey close behind. They were both still wearing med outfits.

“Here,” Ben said, throwing her something from her wardrobe once he’d put on his own garb. He reached over to his personal armory and pulled out his crossguard lightsaber, red and blazing as it ignited. She pulled out her own and they ran together back down the corridor, footsteps barely making a sound amongst the piercing sound of the alarm.

They reached the war room, but no one waited for them there. Where there normally would have waited Hux, perhaps pacing impatiently or leaning on the holotable with his arms crossed and a perpetual sneer on his face, there only stood an array of stormtroopers, Sith troopers, and members of the elite Praetorian Guard, who immediately began to fire at them--and in the case of the guards, advance with their long spears.

It was as if Rey and Ben were back in the throne room for the first time, fighting together for the first time-- _ with _ each other instead of  _ against  _ each other. They moved as a single unit, back to back in their signature style, eliminating the troopers one by one. The guards proved harder to fight, just as it had been in the throne room, with the two halves of Snoke looming over them, but they nonetheless fought them off, kicking, backflipping, and swerving their sabers until not a body besides theirs stood.

When it was over, they turned to each other, breathing heavily. A moment passed where they stared deep into each others’ eyes, then suddenly they were clutching each other tight, not able to tell whose limbs were whose, and then their lips came together in a great crash, pent up energy from the moment they had met each other finally being released at last. Ben could feel their tongues entwining, and feel Rey’s warm breath, and when they finally broke apart, he knew that he was meant for her--if nothing else in this world, it was her he lived for. Nothing else mattered--not the First Order, nor the Resistance, not the Jedi or the Sith--it was only Rey, Rey and him, forever and ever, reaching past everything he could ever hope to understand, their Dyad stronger than anything worldly--because it  _ was  _ divine--binding them together in life and death. They would never be broken.

The revelation came to him in silence. The alarm echoing through the halls was nothing; they were under attack but it didn’t matter because Rey was there, and she saw him and their love was real and they were together. “I love you,” he whispered, almost afraid to speak. A moment of silence, and Ben was afraid that he’d spoken too soon, but then--

“I love you too,” Rey whispered back, her eyes wet, each tear an unspoken phrase of longing and devotion, of apology and gratefulness. Ben felt tears falling hard and fast down his cheeks, each meaning the same as hers, dampening his robes. Rey reached a slender hand out and wiped them away. He leaned into her touch, savoring every second of it, knowing that whatever happened, he could count on her love, and she could count on his.

The moment was over as quickly as it had come upon them. Ben grabbed Rey’s hand and they pelted down the corridor, skidding to a stop when they came in contact with the Knights of Ren.

“Now is the time,” Ben said to them, his voice strong and sure. “Will you fight my side, and the side of Rey?”

“Our loyalty lies with you, Master, not the First Order,” replied Ap’lek. They each gave short bows, and the next second were wielding their blades, each a seemingly normal weapon enhanced by the Force sensitivity of each of the Knights. Ben Solo, once Kylo Ren, led them in formation down the hall, their footsteps pounding on the hard tile of the palace floor. Rey marched at Ben’s side, her saber ignited and her expression determined. It made her all the more beautiful.

***

Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, Rose, and BB-8 rode in silence towards the capital, their small ship whirring in the darkness of space. They didn’t speak much, not since hearing the news of the First Order rebelling against itself. They knew that Rey was there, and for her sake, they abstained from joking and laughter.

“Jumping from lightspeed in three...two...one…” Poe flicked the switch on the Resistance ship, and the bluish fog of hyperspace faded to nothingness. Through the dashboard, Poe could see the bright lights and old palace of the capital where the First Order had kept base since the demolition of Starkiller. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he muttered to himself as the ship sank lower and lower onto the planet.

They arrived when the three suns of the capital were high in the sky, the day waxing to its full. The air was thick and hot and humid; Poe smelled a storm. As they landed, he noticed that the stormtroopers were gone from their stations, all checkpoints abandoned.  _ What was going on? _

“Something’s wrong here,” Finn murmured to him, his breath tickling Poe’s ear. “They would never leave the entry wide open like this.”

As he said it, a group of five stormtroopers marched over to them, looking extremely frazzled. Their suits, normally white and crisp, were scratched and dirtied. A few marks that looked suspiciously like lightsaber singes crossed their armor in deliberate places. “Identification,” one said in a male’s voice.

“We have an appointment with Supreme Leader Rey,” Finn explained, taking charge of the group.

The stormtrooper eyed him through his visor, and Poe felt distinct discomfort; he couldn’t tell what the man’s expression was and it left him feeling nervous and on edge. “You’re a traitor,” the stormtrooper finally said. “And so is that bitch  _ Rey _ .”

Poe and Finn had their blasters aimed at the trooper’s head before they knew what they were doing, and the other four masked soldiers lifted theirs in retaliation. A few seconds of silence passed before Poe gradually lowered his weapon, prompting the others to do the same.

“I’m not a traitor,” Finn said quietly. “I’m free.” With that statement, he hit the trooper’s soft spot, under his crotch plate, and the man groaned in pain, bending forward. With the distraction in place, Poe and Chewie twisted the arms of the other troopers, making them drop their blasters pitifully.

“Don’t kill them,” Finn instructed, and Poe felt a burst of pride fill his heart, that this man, the man who had survived and struggled and was the most loyal person he knew, was filled with the same kindness and morality that the galaxy lacked.

Once weaponless, the troopers were nearly defenseless, and quickly defeated, especially by Chewie, who was the strongest of them all and could have pulled off their arms if he wanted to. Jannah was surprisingly skilled as well--Poe supposed that she must have had some background in combat. Rose, however, stood to the side with BB-8, her blaster clutched in her hands as she surveyed the action grimly.

Finally, the stormtroopers lay on the floor of the landing pad, unconscious and limp. The crew dragged them off to the side, where they were stuffed into a large supply room. “They’ll be okay,” Poe assured Finn as they headed off towards the palace doors.

“All this brainwash…” Finn lamented. “It’s despicable. I  _ hate  _ Hux.  _ He’ _ s the one who did this to us.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the same process was inflicted upon him?” came another voice. The boys spun around mid-step to find Jannah barely centimeters behind them, a bittersweet and rueful expression on her face.

“What do you mean?” Finn shot back in a whisper as Poe creaked open the old-fashioned push/pull palace doors, the entrance unguarded, wondering where everyone was.

“He probably was brainwashed, too. This whole operation was engineered by Snoke, the blight of the galaxy,” Jannah sniffed. “At least, that’s what the folks in my village on Endor always believed. And I’m not sure that those suppositions originated from nothing. There’s a truth to the Snoke-conspiracy theory. I’m not sure Hux’s mind was untouched by the First Order, just like the stormtroopers.”

Finn snorted angrily. “And how would you and your village in the middle of nowhere know of Snoke and the First Order’s stormtroopers?” he asked.

“Because we were part of it,” Jannah sighed. They were creeping through the entry hall now, not a soul in sight. Poe listened in on their conversation as he scouted ahead, leaving Jannah and Finn to discuss. Behind them, Rose, Chewie, and BB-8 were deep in some exchange that involved much whirring and beeping on the droid’s part, odd Wookie noises, and Rose trying to translate the two. It was all quiet, of course.

“You were a part of it?” Poe heard Finn repeat incredulously. “Part of the First Order? You were stormtroopers?” His voice grew more and more excited with each breath. “You escaped too?”

“Yes,” she replied simply.

Poe shut his ears, albeit reluctantly. It seemed like this would be a private conversation, one not meant for prying outsiders like him. He hadn’t shared the trauma--but he was sure that in time, Finn would lean on him and entrust to him the memories of the time before they met.

They reached the entrance to the throne room, and Poe peeked around the edge of the great heavy doors to see a swarm of stormtroopers clustered around what looked like General Hux, though Poe couldn’t be sure; the group was too far away.

“Stop talking,” he said hoarsely to the group behind him, ceasing the chatter. “There’s a group of First Order troops around the corner.” He turned to face them, heart racing. Putting a finger to his lips, he gestured for them to crouch against the wall. The action was difficult for Chewie to manage, being the size that he was. The top of his furry head popped up past the transparisteel-paned windows of the ancient palace, but nevertheless he was well-enough hidden. His attempt made Poe crack a small smile despite himself as he turned back, body pressed to the wall, listening in on the troopers.

“--have to find them,” Hux was saying. “These traitors have taken over the First Order. They are a disgrace to all that we stand for and what we have fought for.” With a jolt of shock, Poe realized that Hux was perched on the throne, his expression stiff, yet lazy, as if he belonged there.  _ Had he been planning this? _

Hux continued, “I want ten troopers in each squad. Three squads will hunt for the traitors Ren and Rey while the others defend the base against Resistance forces, limited in number that they are.” His smirk deepened. “I’m sure Organa has discovered what’s happened with her pathetic son and his futile spying by this point.”

Poe whirled around to face the group again. “We did tell Leia that all the troops needed to be deployed, right?” His breathing was coming faster and faster. Gulping, Finn stepped forward and placed his hand on Poe’s chest, lending him a sense of calm amidst the chaos. “We did,” Finn said in a low voice, as to not be heard by the troopers, which were headed their way. “Now, if you don’t mind, let’s get out of here, please.”

“Right,” Poe agreed, nodding quickly. He led the group past the throne room doors, around the next corner, and into an empty room that might have once been used to entertain royalty. “We need to split up,” he told them once they’d reached safety. “This group is too large.”

“No--” Rose began. Chewie let out a growl of agreement.

“--yes,” Poe interrupted. “We’ll be caught in an instant. While we wait for Resistance troops, we need to do something, and we can’t if we’re all captured--or dead.”

Rose pursed her lips but said nothing. Taking her silence as acquiescence, Poe continued, “Finn and I will--”

“Wait,” Finn said, one arm raised. He had a faraway, glazed look in his eyes. “Right now, the Resistance will just be crushed. We stand no chance.”

“That’s a helpful thought,” Poe muttered, just as Jannah commented, “How pleasant.”

“No, I have a way to help our forces,” Finn said hurriedly. “The First Order doesn’t kill all who they defeat. For years, they’ve captured prisoners that have surrendered.”

“You sure that the First Order gives any sort of kriff about war crimes?” Poe asked sarcastically. “Because I could have sworn, the last time I was captured--”

“Just shut up for a moment, Poe,” Finn snapped, then looked immediately regretful. “I meant--well, the point is--” He shook his head and flared his nostrils. “They only kill... _ useless _ ...captives, I mean. They keep the ‘valuable’ ones for...well you know, anyway.”

Jannah looked up shrewdly from where she’d been leaning against the wall, picking carelessly at her nails. “You’re gonna free them,” she observed. “And you’re gonna use them against their captives.”

“ _ Exactly _ ,” Finn said. Turning to Poe, he added, “See? She gets me!”

Poe only shook his head in exasperation. Still, though, he couldn’t be too upset. What better plan did they have? “This is mad. Let’s do it!” he agreed finally. He glanced at Finn as if to say, _ I love you, but really? _ As soon as the thought popped into his head, he did a double-take. Had he really just thought those words?  _ I love you, but… _ He shook his head forcefully, trying to clear his mind. He needed to be focused, but Finn’s low, rich voice and strong features were proving to be a distraction.

“We should still split,” Poe said eventually. “Finn and I will go free the prisoners. Chewie, you wanna come?”

The Wookie sounded his agreement.

“That’s settled, then,” said Poe. “Rose, you and Jannah take BB-8 and--”

“We have a plan,” Jannah interrupted coolly.

Rose looked over at her, confusion evident on her face. “We--do?”

“Absolutely,” Jannah replied, a smirk growing on her face as she kept her eyes leveled on Poe. “Let the boys do the heavy lifting. You and I, Rose,” she announced, finally turning to the short mechanic, “we will be the  _ speed _ .”

“Fine, then,” Poe said. “I don’t really care what you’re doing, as long as it helps.” He faced Finn and Chewie. “Let’s go.” They rushed from the room in a rush, leaving Rose, Jannah, and BB-8 huddled together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!! if you enjoyed please leave kudos and leave a comment of praise/feedback! (i adore comments, seriously). stay safe everyone--next chapter will be posted according to the new schedule: Tuesday may 19!


	16. A Persuasive Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jannah and Rose take a chance, deciding to turn to F.O. against itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo i know this is *technically* being posted on wed instead of Tues, and I'm SORRYYYY but no one rly cares about this fic, anyway (except for me) so it's okay ig...  
> a rather short chapter (sorry about that), but the next two are much longer, and then it's the epilogue!!! YAY! I'm so excited to share the finale of my lil fic. enjoy some minor rosannah/jannah being gay af--and cool af as well

Jannah’s life had been in turmoil since she was a child. At the young age of five standard years, she was kidnapped by the First Order and brainwashed to believe their lies. It was only one she left the training centers and made her way onto the battlefield, along with so many other stormtroopers who’d been raised like her, given nothing but a blaster and orders to kill whatever moved, that her life had begun to change. She saw the people crouching there, and they were not the mindless monsters who had betrayed the First Order like she’d been taught, branded traitors for life. She saw families, and young couples, and children, attempting in vain to flee to safety, except that there was no safety, not in the galaxy as it was.

And so it was that she returned to her bunk that evening filled with confusion and doubt, refusing to take the medicine given to her when she sullied the dorm floor with putrid vomit. She couldn’t trust anything that the First Order gave her anymore. Instead, she flushed the pills away, chest heaving with the effort not to collapse from nausea.  _ How could they? _ Jannah remembered thinking as she lay in bed that night.

And thus began her secret campaign of defecting, speaking to only those whom she could absolutely trust, filled with fear in every moment that she’d be revealed and strung up to die in some horrific way, with her whole legion watching.

After one year of hiding in plain sight, she’d managed her escape with a group of around sixty others. They’d stolen a First Order ship and sold it in the black market on another planet for a discount on the vow that the seller wouldn’t reveal where they went.

They kept on this way for yet another year, until they’d deemed that there was no way for the First Order to trace them. Finally, with naught but a small antique fighter, they took turns traveling to Endor, a moon known only for its absurd Ewoks, and settled there. By that time, their group had lessened to half of its original size, but they were a tight-knit group, and they cared for each other.

When the opportunity for Jannah to join the fight again arose, she gripped it tight, just as firmly as she had grasped onto her freedom. She couldn’t stand by. This was  _ her  _ fight. And she was determined to succeed. She was determined to  _ win _ .

Now as she stood next to the very cute mechanic who had arrived on Endor less than a standard week ago (who, in fact, was making butterflies flutter in her stomach), Jannah finally had a plan. “We’re gonna steal the First Order’s ships,” she told Rose in an urgent, low voice.

Rose gawped at her, round face incredulous at Jannah’s proclamation. “We can’t do that--there’s only two of us!” she said.

“There won’t be,” Jannah replied, determined to push aside her fear. It had worked once, surely it would work again. When Rose was silent, she added, “We’re going to recruit stormtroopers.”

Rose’s jaw fell a centimeter further. “If you say,” she finally mumbled.

“What’s that?”

“I mean, of course,” Rose said in a clear voice. “We’re going to succeed.”

“That’s the spirit!”

It happened smoothly at first. They reached the hangar, guarded by a division of stormtroopers. Jannah stepped out into the empty area and immediately faced the barrels of fifty blasters. She raised her hands high into the air as she spoke to them.

“A year ago, I was one of you,” Jannah began, her voice wavering slightly in the silence. She cleared it, sensing the presence of Rose behind her.  _ We’re going to succeed, _ the mechanic had said, echoing her own thoughts.

She pressed on. “I slept in your quarters. I ate in your mess hall. Starkiller base was all I ever knew. I killed and I fought and I served a master who did not care about me. I was a number, as you are.” Out of the corner of her left eye, she saw one of the troopers flinch, blaster faltering. She lowered her hands to her sides.

“Hands back  _ up _ !” shouted another stormtrooper, this one to her right. “You’re a treasonous deserter! I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work.”

“I remember you, DX-3904,” Jannah replied calmly, ignoring her declaration. “We shared a dorm, do you recall? I slept above you.” It was true in a double sense of the word. Jannah had slept on the top bunk...but not always. Sometimes she’d come down and cuddle with DX, Dex, as she called her then, and if they were lucky, do more than cuddle…

DX approached her, the barrel of the blaster shoved into Jannah’s face. The point of it created an uncomfortable pricking sensation. “I could blow a hold in you right now,” DX murmured.

“But you won’t,” Jannah insisted, licking her lips nervously. She took a risk, placing her fingertip on the weapon and pushing it out of the way. She then spoke to the group of them. “I escaped from this life! I am free!” She shook her head at them. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your lives shooting mindlessly at faceless victims until it’s you who’s caught in the crossfire?”

She told them about her life on Endor, and her daring endeavor to smuggle ships and fight with the Resistance, the people who cared for freedom and justice, and above all, peace. “This is what I have. What I want for you.”

They stood there, entranced, and slowly lowered their blasters one by one, some clattering to the hangar floor as the troopers holding them fell to their knees.

The next step was the easy part. “You were...amazing back there, Jannah,” Rose said to her as they, along with the ex-stormtroopers, loaded themselves into the massive ships, though not quite as large as a Star Destroyer.

They met up with Finn and Poe, laden with prisoners, outside the palace. “I’ll do anything to get rid of the First Order,” one prisoner remarked. He had scruffy hair, a beard from the long time spent without the most basic of necessities, and scaly purple skin. “I want to see them burned to the ground.”

Jannah smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! as always, kudos and comments of praise/feedback are greatly appreciated! stay safe everyone:)


	17. A New Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia realizes what must be done to defeat the First Order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter before the finale!!!! (excepting the epilogue blah blah blah)

Leia shivered, though she was not cold. R2-D2 was beside her, beeping constantly. At the sound, she remembered her first mission for the small blue-and-white astromech, a programmed message for an old man she could trust. A friend of her father...both adoptive and literal, though Leia preferred not to think of Anakin as related to her at all. “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope,” she had pleaded into R2’s recorders, before glancing around in apprehension. The man who was, unfortunately, her real father had captured her after that and made her watch as her home planet was destroyed. Now, the only piece left of the land where she’d grown up was left with Rey...and perhaps it had made its way to Ben, her son. For she  _ did  _ have a son. She couldn’t abandon him, for, in the end, he hadn’t abandoned her cause.

Leia had called the very bottom levels of the Resistance to the top. She’d called the mechanics, pilots-in-training, software engineers, everyone. She knew, even if they lost, that this was the last spark of hope they’d have in a long time. This was their final chance. They’d taken the last Resistance ships to the capital, leaving nothing unused. From there, they met the First Order in the air, though the latter was noticeably without the Supreme Leader; no doubt Ben was fighting against his ranks down on the planet. He and Rey had been discovered, the hole in their plan finally pulled and wrangled into a wide gap that the First Order would crawl through. The news had spread across the galaxy surprisingly fast, and it gave normal people hope. Normal citizens and slaves of the First Order, connected through shared trauma and long-gone memories of peace and prosperity--those beautiful moments in between the chaos.

R2 beeped frantically, pulling Leia from her thoughts. “What is it?” she asked the little astromech. R2 rotated his dome and tilted his droid body to gesture at the holoscreen that served as both Leia’s plans and her tracking device for what was going on around her. She saw her son and Rey slashing through bodies ruthlessly, their bodies working as one force, one in the Force. They couldn’t afford weakness, she realized. They had no choice--it was kill or be killed. Leia knew which way her son had been raised. She and Han had never stood for weakness.

Still, though, the thought of all those brainwashed men and women, going down without any second remembrances to their childhoods and still devoted mindlessly to a twisted cause, brought Leia a great pang of despair and misery.  _ If there was only some way to change it. _

As if the Force had heard her silent plea, Leia saw on another part of her holo--transmitting the hacked security files--Finn, Poe, Rose, and Jannah. The former two were holding hands, eyes blazing as they ushered Resistance fighters who’d once been prisoners of the First Order onto the military regime’s own ships--and the stormtroopers that waited in the same queues.

Leia blinked multiple times quickly. But no--her vision was not deceiving her. These stormtroopers had turned, joined their cause, just like Ben had. The thought brought warm feelings to Leia’s heart and tears sprang unexpectedly to her eyes. She was so proud of these people, these beautiful, wonderful people whom she had never met. “Oh, Artoo,” she whispered, voice getting the better of her. Even in her days of a princess on Alderaan, she’d never seen a sight so beautiful.

Moments later, the ships were loaded and rose into the air, meeting other First Order vessels in peace. Leia smiled. They had no idea what was coming to them.

“Rose?” she asked, lifting her wrist. “Where are you? Which ship?”

Rose Tico’s holo appeared, blue and crackling. She looked worn but still bore a grin on her face. There was something else there too--a giddiness that Leia had never seen the young woman exhibit. That’s when she noticed the dark woman standing behind her--Jannah. Leia smiled to herself.  _ Ah _ . She knew the feeling. Leia was suddenly reminded intensely of Han and felt a ball of emotion rise through her chest, but quickly pushed it back down.  _ Professionalism _ , she told herself.

“I’m on one of the destroyers,” Rose told the general. She added sheepishly, “I’m not sure which one.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Leia said quickly. “All I need to know is this:  _ what is your plan? _ ”

Rose and Jannah looked at each other and let out a great peal of laughter. Finally, Rose answered, “It was Jannah’s idea, General Leia.”

“I saw what happened, yes,” Leia said. “Wonderful tactic, a favorite of mine during the war against the Empire.”

Rose smiled at Jannah again and Leia felt another pang of bittersweet memories.

“We’re flying with the First Order; once we meet up with the Resistance fleet, we’re gonna turn on them,” Rose explained. Before Leia could protest, Jannah spoke up, seemingly noticing Leia’s expression. “We’ve already commed the few ships that are coming,” the ex-stormtrooper said. “They’ll know not to shoot until we say.”

Leia nodded, slightly calmed but still apprehensive. “Well let’s just be thankful that it’s women leading this mission, shall we?”

Rose and Jannah exchanged looks. Rose hesitated for a brief moment before blurting, “Finn and Poe seem to be under the impression that  _ they  _ are leading the mission.”

“Oh, are they now?” Leia said blandly. “Put them on, will you?”

Rose nodded, a nervous expression on her face. “Hey, boys!” she called. A moment later, Finn and Poe stood in the cast of the holo, their blue figures wavering for a few seconds before fully connecting. “General Leia,” Poe nodded at her.

“Don’t ‘ _ General Leia _ ’ me, Poe,” Leia retorted, crossing her free arm. “I need you to understand that it’s Rose and Jannah who I am putting in charge right now.”

“Jannah?” Poe repeated incredulously. “But--she--”

“She what? Is a woman?”

“No,” Poe shot back hotly. “She literally  _ just  _ joined the Resistance!”

Leia smiled coolly. “And you think that means that she doesn’t have a stake in it?” she asked. Poe didn’t respond, his face only folding into a slight pout. “If you doubt Jannah, why don’t you talk to your boyfriend?” Leia suggested. She ignored Poe's subsequent protests, adding, “I know you two are together now--don’t try and lie. I don’t care.” She paused. “Jannah has been in this fight since the beginning.” The young woman had contacted Leia on Endor and explained her past to the general. She just hadn’t been able to reveal the full story to Poe. “Just--trust me, please.”

Poe hesitated, then nodded crossly, his lips still curved in a pout. “Fine,” he replied stiffly.

Leia nodded, ignoring his attitude.  _ Youth _ , she thought.  _ Without them, where would we be? And yet, they could be so ignorant _ ! She smiled to herself as she remembered her own time fighting the Empire.

Ah, well. She was the mentor now, as Ben--no, Obi-Wan, had been to her brother. Her eyes teared at the memory of Luke, so moody in his old age, yet so inspirational throughout his life. She wondered, sometimes, whether she’d ever truly been able to move on without him.

The commlink deactivated, leaving Leia alone. Jannah and Rose would engage the First Order’s military, and she would be the fuse.

Leia made her way from the holotable towards a small box that sat in the corner. She eased up the lid carefully, and dust rose in the air. She hadn’t touched this in many years, preferring to teach her padawan, Rey, with words only. Inside lay a finely-plated lightsaber hilt, fitting for the princess that Leia had been. She was a general now, and though she used the Force, she had no use for weaponry in the midst of her planning strategies.

Leia lifted the saber, holding it in the air as the metal caught the light. With a loud sound that Leia had grown so fond of, the saber activated, and Leia listened to its calming hum. She swished the weapon through the air a few times, reminding herself of its weight. Finally, she deactivated the blue blade and tucked it at her side.

“Artoo, prep the hyperdrive,” General Leia said to the astromech beside her. The little droid whirred in acknowledgment, then slid over to the circular tech port. In a few moments, the ship was moving from its solitary position, gliding through black space as it popped to lightspeed, aiding the Resistance.

There was a sense of finality in the air. Leia could feel it in her very bones as she saw in her mind the sunset of what had been a long and beautiful life. They reached the First Order’s military capital, Leia directing the ship to where she knew Rey would be. The girl would be fighting with her son, their dyad--Leia knew, she  _ knew  _ that this could be the only reason for their combined strength--stronger than ever.

In her mind’s eye, Leia Organa saw Ben and Rey slashing through the First Order mercilessly, their ruthlessness manifesting when it mattered most. She was alright with that, she realized in that moment. They were doing what the situation required.

She docked the ship in the abandoned hangar, then lay her lightsaber on the tile. Rey would find it. No one else would. She just  _ knew _ .

Leia saw something else, too, as she returned to the ship. A crest, a horizon. Bright pink and orange streaks. The Light and the Dark combined, as it should have been in the days of the Old Republic, united by lovers who’d once been adversaries. She saw a small, black-haired boy, his robes dirty from playing, and she saw a little girl, making her way alone in a harsh desert. She saw their paths cross in enmity; she saw that same enmity fade to something purer, something deeper. She saw, as she sat in the cockpit with her little droid, the course of the universe, the oppression and the hope, the joy and the despair. The balance of everything. She saw it all burn brightly and then blink out.

Now, there was only herself and R2-D2, alone together as they hurtled toward the First Order ships at the highest speed. She’d always thought she’d be a martyr. The thought was not quite sad and not quite happy.

R2 whirred and beeped for a final time. Leia smiled sadly. This was the droid that had belonged first to her true mother, then her father, who perhaps, she may be able to forgive in the afterlife. Then he had been her adopted father’s and hers and her brother’s, and finally, the unproclaimed hero of the galaxy, about to join everything else in nothingness.

With her final breath, Leia reached into the Force, yanking away the tetherings of General Hux and the First Order lackeys, their lives ending quickly and painlessly. Finally, she lifted her withered hand to R2’s dome, and the astromech made a contented sound. “Goodbye, old friend,” she said. Then, she joined the Force.  _ I’m coming, Luke. _

***

R2-D2 had been many things. He’d called himself first a simple servant, a mechanic, a pilot. But he’d also been a dear companion. And oh, how he  _ missed  _ Anakin Skywalker. And of course, everyone else. But it was Anakin whom he’d fought wars with, had been there with him always. Even on Mustafar, when the identity of  _ Anakin  _ finally died.

He was old; he was rusty; he was sad that in his final moments, he didn’t have a chance to bid C-3PO farewell. He knew that the old protocol droid probably would regret the moment as well. His friend was safe, far from the action, somewhere on Endor, where he’d once been thought a god. They’d see each other again, of course. R2 felt his whole life that somehow he’d gained sentience, and perhaps now...he finally had, in these last moments of what he could call a life.

His sensors picked up a great groan from the vessel and his visuals caught General Leia with her eyes squeezed tightly before she let out a long sigh, fading away and leaving only her robes behind. R2 was alone as he crashed with the ship, taking a chunk of First Order infrastructure with them. He couldn’t even bring himself to let out a typical squeal. One moment, he was a sentient droid, or at least the closest a droid had ever come to being so. The next, he was a scrap of smoldering, melting metal, but at long last, he was free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! as always i appreciate kudos and comments of praise/feedback! stay safe!<3


	18. Rise of the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Rey accepts her fate as the legacy of the Sith and the Jedi, Anakin returns from the realm of the Force Ghosts to finish the prophecy.
> 
> *Edit: I now have a [reading playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/69jS43gFsw1f2FLFPCA5Co?si=aPRVFVZzScSPhrEdA4GEWw) for this chapter! highly recommend it for the general ambiance of the scene.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it!!! this is the finale!!! I'm not counting the epilogue because that's just to see how the galaxy moves on, but this is truly the end i wanted to see for the skywalker saga. i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.

Rey held two lightsabers in her grip: those of the legendary Jedi twins of the previous generation--Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Her two Masters. She felt strong and sure as she wielded them, their matching blues crisscrossing a path of destruction before her. Her eyes caught the blazing fiery red of the crossblade in the corner of her vision. That, of course, was the lightsaber of Kylo Ren, now Ben Solo. She’d considered giving him one of her blades, but he had bade her keep them. He had told her she looked stunning holding them, and perhaps, Rey thought, he was right.

She could only imagine what she looked like right now, her fury a weapon itself. They’d found Leia’s seemingly discarded saber on the floor of the hangar--the  _ empty  _ hangar. She hoped that the Resistance was fighting back, somehow, but as untrained as she was, she couldn’t sense them in the Force the way her Masters could have done.

They reached the end of a corridor. No stormtroopers--or soldiers of any sort--came running at them, and Rey felt a rush of relief. Finally, a moment of peace.

Alas, no. A pain, sharp and nearly blinding, tore through her, but it was not that of a blaster or lightsaber. Rey crumpled to the ground, clutching her head, and Ben immediately kneeled at her side. “Rey, my love, what is it?”

She could do naught but let out a groan, her heart squeezing tightly with the sense of loss that pulsed through her body. Leia was gone. Both her Masters were gone. She was alone.

The next second, Ben was present in her mind, a soothing presence compared to when he’d intruded as Kylo Ren. He saw her thoughts, he  _ was  _ her thoughts. They shared one mind, one spirit, in the Force. Ben had lost his mother. Their mutual mentor was dead.  _ No _ \--Rey had to remind herself--their mentor was one with the Force.

Ben realized how much he’d taken for granted. He’d felt remorse before, but nothing,  _ nothing  _ like this. It was as if he’d been sent into a fiery pit to repent for his sins, as was taught in one of the Ancient Religions of centuries past. This is what he deserved for inflicting so much pain on the galaxy. He could fight, he could switch sides, he could die for his cause...but nothing, no one, would forgive him, he realized. No one but Rey, it seemed.

Their pain melded together for one more moment before it faded, however not nearly as quickly as it had approached. They helped each other to stand, clutching each Rey clutching Ben’s arms and him clutching hers. They picked up the fallen sabers and walked silently around the corner, coming at last to the throne room; not the red foreboding place that Snoke had sat in on his destroyer, but a beautiful chamber that had stood for thousands of years. Of course, Rey had been here before, but it was not the same in the silence, the troops being engaged in battle elsewhere.

She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Ben, there’s something I have to do, and you won’t like it.”

He eyed her carefully, his gaze worried and his lips quivering, as they always did. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

The right corner of her lip rose slightly, but it was only the barest hint of what could have been a smile, perhaps in the language of another species in another galaxy. But here and now, Rey could only feel misery. She’d lost everyone. The one person who loved her and accepted her fully and truly, who had never, ever turned away...he was here. And she was about to be gone. “No, I’m not,” Rey replied.

Ben’s face betrayed no expression. “And I won’t be able to stop you, will I?” he asked in that low voice of his. Rey let the sound of it fill her to the brim, reaching every crevice in her doomed body. Her body, a vessel for her twisted grandfather. She let out a shaky breath and felt a tear slip from her eye.

“No, you won’t,” she echoed. Laying one hand on his pale cheek, she kissed him deeply, his pillowy lips accepting hers in resignation. She thought for a brief moment that he may have known what she was about to do, but if he did, he didn’t say anything.

“Ben…”

“I know,” he said with a bittersweet smile and still-solemn eyes.

“Do you?” she asked. Then she lifted her saber and ignited it, the blue glowing in the fading light captured by the palace’s transparisteel windows. This lightsaber had killed younglings, and yet, still was noble. This lightsaber had fought for good and fought for evil, passed down through generations, each person leaving their mark. And now it would end everything.

Rey plunged the blade into her chest, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. She twisted it once through her heart. Suddenly, Ben was holding her and extracting the weapon carefully, his gentle hands doing their best to avoid further damage.

“Rey, no,” his voice breaking. She realized that he’d been reduced to soft sobs and reached a hand to his cheek once more. “It’s okay,” she told him.

Ben’s chest rose and fell heavily, his jaw quaking. “No-- _ no _ , I didn’t think you’d meant  _ this _ . Oh, my love, why did you do this?  _ Why _ ? What does this do for anything? It--it’s  _ I _ who deserves to die--”

Her fingers moved to his lips and she raised her head painfully to reach them, sweeping them gently with her own. “I’m sorry that I never explained,” Rey whispered, the sounds of battle reaching them from afar.  _ They would have to finish it without her _ , she realized. “Darth Sidious--” she drew in another shaky breath. “--as long as I live, so does he.”

Ben shook his head confusedly, eyes alight with the pain only someone who is young and newly in love can know. “I--don’t--”

“I’m sorry,” Rey murmured, a lump forming in her throat. “I wish we could have had more time together. I love y-you.” Her head fell to the side, eyes staring wide open, yet not seeing.

Ben watched the light leave her eyes, and it was as if a Dark shadow was lifted from his shoulders, a presence that had been there his whole life suddenly gone. “Oh, Rey--”

He couldn’t finish. Great sobs wracked his chest, his shoulders, tearing through him at an alarming rate as he swayed, holding the young Jedi’s limp body in his arms. “Come back...come back, Rey…. Please, please…”

There was nothing. He felt nothing. She was truly gone--not halfway-so or some other fashion. Rey was dead. Ben was alone, in some dark place he’d never been before, trapped in his mind.  _ How could he go on _ ? She’d been his only light, and now there were only shadows and death and broken promises. He dropped her body and lay on the floor beside her, huddling into her fading warmth.

The sky was dark now, too. He couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe.

Then, suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder. Ben rolled over in the cold darkness, his eyes adjusting slowly. A familiar face hovered above him bordered by brown waves, a scar slicing down one eye. Dark-toned Jedi robes, a pronounced jawline. His grandfather, Anakin Skywaker.

“Ben,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “It’s not over yet.”

He didn’t have the strength nor the will to speak.

Anakin continued. “Rey did a noble thing. She sacrificed herself and saved the entire galaxy.” He did not add,  _ she did what I did _ , but there was no need for it to be said. Ben knew.

“You didn’t save her…” Ben rumbled, his anger a brewing storm. This fury was childish, he knew, but he couldn’t stop it. It rose up from deep within him, following the tunnel to the surface that Kylo Ren had hollowed out. Kylo Ren had  _ needed  _ this anger. Ben Solo did not, and he resented it, which only made him more enraged. He grabbed his crossbladed lightsaber from where it lay on the ground, but Anakin was too quick, snatching Rey’s-- _ his _ \--from her side and blocking Ben’s thrust.

Ben stared in awe at him, but Anakin was unmoved. “I’m the Chosen One,” he said haughtily. “You think I can do nothing? I’m almost as alive as you are.”

_ Alive _ . The word sent Ben into a frenzy; he was alive, and Rey wasn’t. And Anakin was somehow more alive than she was, yet Rey had never been controlled by the Dark; she was spotless compared to his grandfather!

“How could you say a thing like that?” Ben asked dangerously, rising to his feet and slashing his blade at Anakin, who easily blocked it. “How can you say that when she lies there,  _ dead  _ in front of me? When you’ve  _ never  _ suffered that same loss?”

He knew instantly that he’d gone too far. Anakin’s face was stony and wrought with painful memories. “I did,” he said. “I still do.”

Ben was silent.

“Your grandmother was a strong and fierce woman. Cunningly intelligent. A master at politics. Kind. Sad.” He paused to breathe in deeply. “I couldn’t save her. I promised--” Anakin broke off and tilted his ghostly head upwards, hiding his tears. “But I can--at least I think I can--save Rey.”

“She’s dead,” Ben spat harshly.

“Is she?” Anakin’s gaze leveled with Ben’s, his eyes a challenge. He stepped over to the young Jedi’s lean body, trailed by Ben’s stare.

“Wake up, Rey,” his grandfather said, brushing his ghostly hand across hers. Nothing happened. “See?” Ben asked, resigned. Anakin frowned, and suddenly, a million Force ghosts were behind him, stretching out their transparent hands, the Force nearly visible with the strength of their power.

Ben watched, open-mouthed, his hands clasping Rey’s clammy ones, as the Force swirled to a milky white and sank into his love. He felt the heat enter her, and closed his eyes, letting the Force flow through him. He became a conduit, just like the Force Ghosts, every single one of them losing track of their consciousnesses for a brief moment as they allowed life to flood back into Rey. The Chosen One led the fallen and Ben, Anakin’s figure becoming paler and paler as Rey’s heat increased.

Finally after what seemed like many hours, her eyes fluttered open and her fingers twitched in his. “R-Rey?” Ben asked, too afraid to say anything further. She stared at him and nodded silently, seemingly in awe of what had just occurred. “I love you,” Ben said softly, and kissed her.

***

Anakin watched his grandson embrace the granddaughter of his closest friend, Obi-Wan, and most hated enemy, Sidious, their lives finally united in peace. The Force finally balanced. He had at last fulfilled the concluding part of the prophecy. Outside, the blaster fire was ceasing and the sun was rising; the effort of the Force Ghosts had taken the night. And Anakin?

Anakin was dying for the fourth time in his existence. The first had been when he initially started loving Padmé Amidala and he thought he wouldn’t be able to survive without her. In a way, Anakin hadn’t been able to survive, only Darth Vader had been able to go on after her death.

The second time, it had been when he was burnt almost to death on Mustafar, the pain--physical and emotional--overcoming him until he’d given up. Sheev Palpatine had saved him, but of course, only for his own personal gain.

The third time, it had been as a broken man, his son crouching in front of him on the remains of the Death Star. His body finally passed on.

And now… Anakin felt his essence fading from the realm of the Force Ghosts, his spirit leaving the Jedi, finally. He was moving on, to a place where he didn’t know, had never known...true death. Padmé was waiting for him there. He was euphoric...and he was afraid. That is who Anakin Skywalker had always been, really. Fear.

Anakin faintly sensed a group of Force Ghosts surrounding him. Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Ahsoka were there beside him. “Thank you,” he said to them simply.

“I always believed in you, little Ani,” Qui-Gon said, a smile on his lined face. Through the hazy fog of his mind, Anakin found that the old Jedi’s usage of the nickname didn’t annoy him.

“Goodbye, Master,” Ahsoka said, her voice choked. She squeezed his hand tightly.

Luke and Leia, his darling children--with whom he’d spent so little time--exchanged watery expressions, each tinted with a different emotion beneath the facade. “It’s not fair!” Luke exclaimed. “All those years ago, I promised I’d save you, and I couldn’t then--and I can’t now--”

Anakin shushed his son, his blinking slowly as he placed a fading hand on his shoulder. “You cared, and that’s what matters, Luke,” he said quietly. “You did so much that I couldn’t.”

Luke seemed assured a little by his father’s statement, but tears still poured down his face, wrought with guilt and misery.

Leia, beside her brother, bit her lip. “Father, I...forgive you,” she admitted. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to, but Ben unknowingly taught me otherwise.” Anakin saw her glance over to where the young lovers were still curled up beside each other, the sunlight striking their tears.

“Thank you, my daughter,” Anakin replied, summoning the last of his strength to wrap his arms around Leia and squeeze her tightly. “I am so sorry that I couldn’t spend more time with you two. I failed you as a father.”

They said nothing, and Anakin knew that his words were a little too true.

Obi-Wan, the last of them, sat to the side, his hands wringing together. “We should be thanking  _ you _ ,” he finally confessed. He looked down, not meeting Anakin’s gaze. When their eyes met again, his were full of tears. “I’ll miss you.”

They most likely would not see each other again. “This is goodbye, then,” Anakin whispered to the Jedi, finding himself at peace. He’d done for Ben what he could not do for himself; he’d balanced the Dyad; he’d left the galaxy in peace. With that thought in mind, Anakin left the Force behind, and slipped past the barrier of death into nothingness.

He heard a soft voice calling to him; he saw a figure bathed in white light. “My love…” he murmured, voice shaking. They took each others’ hands, finally together at last, and walked away from the world, just as they always had wanted. Now they could grow old with one another, unfettered from all burdens and wars and politics. They were married, and they were free.

***

The young couple in the throne room rose alone, the Force Ghosts long disappeared. They held hands and stared at the dawn silently, relishing the sound of  _ nothing _ . A little ways away, two young men held each other, crying tears of joy, and a bit farther, two young women began the slow process of flirting and falling and all the happiness that came with it. Life went on, as it always did, and the shambles of a broken military order were gone. The galaxy was ready for democracy again. And the Force Ghosts looked on, ready to watch a new generation of Jedi rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for coming along this journey with me, the first long fic I've ever written, and about a ship I'm quite passionate about. drop a kudos and comment if you haven't yet, and stay tuned for the epilogue, which i will post tomorrow! stay healthy and safe<3


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn is declared a Jedi Knight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyyy guys welcome to the final chapter! i mean, epilogue! this fic has been so much fun for me to write and obsess over and i hope you liked it too. please feel free to share if you enjoyed and hope this epilogue proves worthy! i also made an [edit](https://professorsnape.tumblr.com/post/618946279298465792/) for this fic so, uhh, check it out if u want?

It was a bright and sunny day in Theed. Rey and Ben Solo, the married leaders of the new Jedi Academy, stood on the steps of the palace as honored guests of the Queen of Naboo, their smiles almost as blinding as the day. Before them, a large crowd was gathered, most wearing the celebratory bright patterns of the culture.

There were other important attendees as well; several young padawans stood before Rey and Ben, their gazes solemn, although their eyes had to squint in the sunlight. They were all ages, as young as fifteen standard years, and as old as thirty. The oldest, of course, was Finn Dameron, looking a bit out of place among the teenagers and young adults. He kept glancing back nervously at his husband, who was grinning from off to the side of the palace steps.

The line moved forward slowly, and Finn felt distinctly the heat of the day. It was worth it, however, to know that he would be knighted in just a few moments.

A Togrutan, seemingly barely older than a youngling, stepped forward, her lekku swaying. Finn saw her serene smile and focused himself, willing to join the mindset of the other padawans, or soon-to-be Jedi Knights. He watched as Rey took a pair of scissors in her hand and gently snip the beaded chain that hung from the Togrutan’s montrals. They made eye contact, and then Rey spoke the words that deemed the padawan as a knight, and the Togruta rose, turning to face the crowd, which cheered wildly.

Sooner than he could process it, it was Finn’s turn. He knelt before Rey and her husband--a person he’d thought he’d never be able to forgive--and looked up at them. As Ben dipped his index finger into a shallow bowl of oil and smeared it against Finn’s forehead, Rey prepared the scissors.

“Finn Dameron, do you pledge yourself to the teachings of the Jedi, to love with compassion and devote yourself to the protection of democracy and freedom and peace in the galaxy?” Rey asked, her face stoic and solemn.

“I do,” Finn answered softly, barely believing that this moment was real. He’d dreamt about it for so long, ever since he’d held Rey’s lightsaber in the forest as they fought Kylo Ren all those years ago. He’d known that there was something different about him, but he’d always maintained that he just had keen senses. Only Rey, his best friend and longest companion, knew who he truly was. And for that, he was forever thankful.

Rey was suddenly speaking again. It felt as if a thousand moments had passed, but in reality, Finn knew that it had only been a few seconds. “Then, I, Jedi Master Rey, on this day deem you, Padawan Finn Dameron, as a full Jedi Knight in the eyes of the Galactic Republic. Serve the galaxy well, Finn.” He saw a grin break out all over her face as she snipped the braid that hung on one side of his head.

“Thank you,” he replied. He chanced a glance at Ben, and saw that the silent Jedi Master also bore a smile, albeit a hesitant one. They would never have a perfect relationship, Finn decided. But as time moved on, it would improve.

Turning to face the crowd before the palace, Finn closed his eyes and took in the fresh air. The galaxy had begun again, and so had he. So had they all.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, thank you for reading and don't forget to leave kudos/ comments of praise/feedback! stay safe and healthy everyone. remember to social distance and always wear a mask outside<3
> 
> Special thanks to everyone who supported this fic along the way: mel, an absolute gem of a person, who I converted to a reylo shipper via this fic, and everyone who sprinted with me. Dream Team, I'm looking at you.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, I appreciate praise and/or constructive criticism! please leave kudos if you liked it and I'll see u in the next update!


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